England v Sweden: Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final – live! | Women’s Euro 2022

27 min A quiet couple of minutes, the first such period in the match.

24 min Kirby makes an excellent sliding challenge in her own area to stop Angeldal running onto Jakobsson’s cutback.

23 min Hemp scurries infield and finds Stanway just outside the area. She makes a little bit of room for a left-footed shot but drags it tamely through to Lindahl.

21 min Hemp slides a low cross to White near the penalty spot, but Eriksson ensures she doesn’t have a clear shot at goal and the ball dribbles through to Lindahl.

20 min Mead wins the ball off Glas to start an England counter. Eventually Hemp gives the ball back to Mead, whose curling shot from 15 yards is blocked. Mead appeals for handball but I don’t think there was anything in it.

18 min The influential Asllani wins Sweden’s first corner. She takes it herself, floating it towards the near post. It’s headed down by Eriksson, I think, and booted clear a little desperately by Daly. England aren’t quite hanging on defensively, but nor are they comfortable.

17 min Bjorn’s long-range shot is blocked by Stanway; then Walsh does well to track Asllani and win a throw-in for England.

16 min Mead’s corner hits the unsighted White and drifts behind for a goalkick.

15 min Mead’s dangerous cross is headed behind by Eriksson for the first England corner…

14 min Bronze loses the ball in a dangerous area to Rolfo, who charges into the England area and then smashes wide from a tight angle.

13 min Here’s that chance for Sofia Jakobsson after 20 seconds of the game.

12 min A very ambitious effort from Stanway (and why not) goes well wide.

11 min England have started quite well in possession, with Hemp looking especially lively, but then look extremely vulnerable to counter-attacks.

10 min Hemp surges away from Bjorn, who cynically pulls her back. No yellow card, which is pretty strange refereeing.

9 min: Blackstenius hits the bar! The resulting corner is curled into the six-yard box, where Earps misses her punch and Blackstenius heads against the bar. Dear me, what a start.

8 min: Another save from Earps! Sweden look so dangerous on the break. Asllani guides a beautiful pass through to Blackstenius, who pulls between Bright and Bronze to run through on goal. She mishits her shot into the ground, but it still looks set to sneak into the net until Earps dives low to her left to push it away.

7 min This is more like the last 10 minutes than the first, such is the pace and intensity of the game. It’s been a brilliant start.

5 min: Chance for Mead! Fran Kirby, 50 yards from goal on the left, drives a superb angled ball over the Sweden defence. Mead gets away from Glas but heads tamely wide of the near post from eight yards. That was a decent chance, although the ball did come a long way so it wasn’t the easiest header.

4 min It’s been an open start to the game, with both teams looking bright and breezy in possession.

3 min “In a huff,” says Paulo Biriani. “The owner of our village bar here in Andalucia has refused to show the game after Spain’s defeat last week. Relying on you here Rob…”

Oh dear.

1 min: Good save from Earps! Sweden almost take the lead after 20 seconds! Rolfo muscled Stanway off the ball in midfield and found Blackstenius. She threaded a fine pass through to Jakobsson, who ran off Bright and hit a low shot across goal that Earps saved with her left foot. Her reactions were really good.

The first Euro 2022 semi-final is under way!

Here come the players! There’s a wonderful atmosphere, with plenty of Sweden fans at Bramall Lane as well. Whether you preferred relaxant is 52% ABV liquor or chamomile tea, now is the time to pour it.

A reminder of the teams

England (4-1-4-1) Earps; Bronze, Bright, Williamson, Daly; Walsh; Mead, Stanway, Kirby, Hemp; White.
Substitutes: Hampton, Roebuck, Greenwood, Carter, Stokes, Scott, Parris, Kelly, England, Toone, Wubben-Moy, Russo.

Sweden (4-2-3-1) Lindahl; Ilestedt, Sembrant, Eriksson, Glas; Angeldal, Bjorn; Jakobsson, Asllani, Rolfo; Blackstenius.
Substitutes: Falk, Musovic, Andersson, Nilden, Kullberg, Hurtig, Blomqvist, Seger, Rytting Kaneryd, Bennison.

Referee Esther Staubli (Switzerland).

TPIAFC, TDTDT

Now this, from Pejman Faratin, is fantastic: a gallery of the Euro 1984 final between England and Sweden, and a glimpse into a really good night out in Luton.

And here’s more on that final, which lasted 70 minutes and was played with a size four ball.

Have your say on Euro 2022

Peter Gerhardsson speaks

“It’s fantastic to play a semi-final again, in front of a crowd like this – we will enjoy it. Even if we’re not at home, we like to play in front of people, so it’s no problem for us.”

Sarina Wiegman speaks

“We’re prepared. We’ve talked about every part of the game. We want to [impose] our style of play but things can happen in the game – things can go well, things can be hard. We’ll try to stick with our plan, do our very best and stay together, and hopefully that brings us success.

“I wasn’t there [for the other semi-final defeats], that’s history. I think right now we’re in a very good place. Everyone is fit; everyone is playing her game and delivering on pitch and off the pitch. I just hope we play to our strengths.”

“For various reasons I have been unable to watch England’s march to the semis, and they’ve done quite well in my absence,” says Adam Griffiths. “My worry is that I’ll jinx them if I watch tonight, and I really want to watch, and we can’t be having that. What’s to be done?”

I think, and I say this with love, it’s time to reluctantly accept that your influence on this game is exactly the same as mine: the square root of bugger all.

Watching the match abroad (II)

“I’m not sure if this will help Emma Hartfield but I’ll be watching the game on uefa.tv,” writes Travis Giblin. “Not sure what the international rights are in Europe but that’s my answer from Canada.”

That which doesn’t kill your tournament dreams makes you stronger

“Hej from Sweden Rob,” says Julian Menz. “Watching with the in-laws, and I have received a thorough grilling from my seven-year-old daughter (born in Sweden) about who I support. It has been really amazing to see the level of coverage given to the tournament, and see her having role models she can relate to. Come On/Heja Svengland!”

It sounds like the tournament has already had a profound impact in England, so goodness knows how great the legacy will be if they win it.

Watching the match abroad

Can anyone help?

“Is there a link to watch or listen to the match for all those on their holidays please?” writes Emma Hartfield (near Malaga where it’s still 34 degrees at 8.15pm) . “We have four girls aged 4-13 (plus four excited adults) looking to cheer on the Lionesses. Thank you!”

In case you’ve been at a digital retreat in the Kerguelen Islands for the past week, here’s how England and Sweden reached the semi-finals.

The case for England

• They’ve had an extra two days’ rest.
• Their comeback against Spain, after being outplayed for so long, will make them feel invincible.
• They are unbeaten in 18 games under Sarina Wiegman.
• Sarina Wiegman.
• They know a number of Swedish players from the WSL.
• It’s coming home!

The case for Sweden

• They’re second in the world rankings.
• They know how to win semi-finals (if not necessarily finals).
• Excluding penalty shootouts, they are unbeaten in 34 games.
• Their head-to-head record against England: 15 wins, three defeats.
• A number of their team know the England players from the WSL.
• It’s going home!

David Squires in a genius, and his review of the quarter-finals is up to standard.

“Waiting for the Sheffield rain to stop (hopefully) before heading to the match,” says Chris Boyle. “How concerned are you by England’s schooling from Spain for most of the previous tie? Still disconcerted by the familiarity from so many men’s defeats (accepting, crucially, the Lionesses weren’t eliminated).”

Not massively, mainly because Spain are a unique team who can do that to anyone. And if you win a game like that, after struggling for so long, it must set up new pathways in the brain. England are a better team than they were a week ago.

I still think this game is 50/50, but the manner of England’s chasing last week doesn’t really bother me.

The teams in full

Team news: England unchanged

This is an excellent profile of Sarina Wiegman, an extraordinary who, for much of the last month*, has seemed like the calmest person in England.

* If not for a couple of minutes straight after the Spain game.

Guide to the Sweden team

If you want to know more about the Swedish team, which is full of stars like Barcelona’s Fridolina Rolfo and Real Madrid’s Kosovare Asllani, this interactive guide is custom designed for your needs.

Or, if you prefer, you can read this dossier on how to stop Sweden – written by Sweden’s own match analyst. I’m not making this up.

It’s raining pretty heavily at Bramall Lane, though the forecast is better for kick-off. I have no idea what the moral of this story is.

May the best team win tonight. But most of all, may nobody be robbed by VAR.

Ellen White or Alessia Russo? It’s White for me. And, more importantly, for Anita Asante.

Early team news

Sarina Wiegman has picked the same XI throughout the tournament, but there is a growing feeling that she will make at least one change tonight. Alex Greenwood for Rachel Daly and/or Ella Toone for Fran Kirby are the obvious options. There is also a case for Alessia Russo ahead of Ellen White, though to my mind the current roles suit them both perfectly.

Sweden have had problems with injuries and Covid throughout the tournament. Hanna Glas and Emma Kullberg, who missed the tense quarter-final win over Belgium, are available again, while Caroline Seger should at least be among the substitutes. We don’t yet know whether Jonna Andersson will play – or whether their coach Peter Gerhardsson will go with 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-3.

Possible teams

England (4-1-4-1) Earps; Bronze, Bright, Williamson, Greenwood; Walsh; Mead, Stanway, Kirby, Hemp; White.

Sweden (4-2-3-1) Lindahl; Ilestedt, Sembrant, Eriksson, Glas; Angeldal, Bjorn; Kaneryd, Asllani, Rolfo; Blackstenius.

Louise Taylor’s big-match preview

Preamble