Cool heads at the Lensbury as England’s Lionesses prepare for intriguing Sweden semi-final tonight
By Eli Haidari
26th Jul 2022 | Local News
Moods were calm as the Lionesses enjoyed a light training session on Monday morning ahead of their trip up to Sheffield for their highly-anticipated semi-final showdown against Sweden tonight.
Bramall Lane will play host to the first Euro 2022 last four encounter with England having to overcome a poor record against the Swedes to reach their first Euro final since 2009.
A dramatic 2-1 comeback against Spain secured the Lionesses semi-final spot with Sarina Wiegman's side showing grit and character to progress.
Ella Toone's equaliser six minutes before the final whistle sent the encounter to extra time before Georgia Stanway's stunner saw the crowd erupt at the Amex Stadium in Brighton which proved to be the decider.
Sweden also left it late in their quarter-final, Linda Sembrant's injury time winner ensured their semi-final spot, where they will be hoping to put themselves in with a chance of a second Euro's medal after winning the competition in 1984.
There is no doubt that the hosts are the in-form side having scored 16 goals in the tournament so far and only conceding their first against Spain in the previous round.
Sweden's competitive record against England however makes for a fascinating encounter.
Peter Gerhardsson's side have only lost once in seven competitive fixtures against the Lionesses which came in the second leg of the 1984 Euro final in Luton when Sweden then prevailed on penalties to clinch the inaugural title.
Their most recent competitive head-to-head came in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup third-place play-off where Sweden secured a 2-1 win.
England will be boosted by the fact they have a fully fit squad with Toone and Alessia Russo pushing for starts following their involvement in England's winner against Spain.
Sweden veteran Caroline Seger is battling a heel injury to feature having missed the last two games.
Wiegman has insisted England will be prepared for Sweden on all fronts: "[Sweden are] very strong on set pieces so we will be prepared for that. They have been dangerous on counter attacks too with direct strikers up front, so we'll be ready."
England vs Sweden will kick off at 8pm tonight with coverage starting on BBC One from 7.25pm as both sides battle it out for a spot in Sunday's penultimate Euro 2022 final.
All images courtesy of Nicholas Dillon
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