Lucy Bronze was England’s matchwinner as their tense and crucial Euro 2025 quarter-final went to a penalty shootout against Sweden.
Bronze, up seventh in the line-up, drilled her spot kick down the middle before Smilla Holmberg fired her penalty over the crossbar to give England a 3-2 shootout win.
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Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved two penalties to keep the Lionesses in the contest and praised the England supporters for giving her an extra edge in the shootout.
Hampton, who performed her heroics with a bloody nose, spoke to the BBC after the match and said she was ‘relieved’ to make it through.
When asked how she felt having helped England to the semi-finals, Hampton replied: “Right now, I don’t know. It’s all just gone so quick this bit of the penalty shootout.”
She added: “We’re very happy obviously as you can tell by the celebrations. Cheering with the fans, they were behind us the whole game even when we were 2-0 down, they knew that we could bring this back and they never write us off.”
Hampton also explained how it felt to perform during the shootout. She revealed: “Stressful watching, stressful playing in it. Every time I saved one I was thinking ‘please just put it in so we have a cushion’.
“Their keeper just went and saved the next one and I was thinking ‘oh here we go’. I’m just happy and relieved now.
“Especially in the shootout [I could feel the impact of the crowd]. They were cheering non-stop and it just helps you get that little bit of an edge over them and pushes you on. They were definately behind me and I appreciate the support.”
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