The game: 4-0
England gave a lesson in realism on Tuesday in the semi-finals of their Euro against Sweden (4-0). Applied in both surfaces, she achieved everything that the French had failed to do against the Netherlands (1-0 after extra time, Saturday) and everything they will have to do on Wednesday against Germany to go at Wembley: score quickly, take cover, and ensure a quiet qualification.
The resounding start of the Euro Lionesses had almost made you forget that Sweden was coming with more experience. It was the Scandinavians who snatched the Olympic silver last summer in Tokyo, passing to a breath of supreme gold. They were the ones who beat England in the small final of the 2019 World Cup (2-1). And they are the ones who are in second place in the FIFA rankings.
All that, they recalled in the first half hour totally to their advantage. Stina Blackstenius took care of extinguishing the English momentum in three stages. But goalkeeper Mary Earps and then the crossbar kept the locals afloat. The Barcelonan Fridolina Rolfö meanwhile fell apart at the end of a ride that will have left behind her future club partner, Lucy Bronze (13th).
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By scoring on Tuesday, Beth Mead equaled the record for the number of goals scored in a single Euro. She thus joins the German Inka Grings.
The storm had passed and the English magic, seen during the overthrow of Spain in the quarterfinals (2-1 after extra time, July 20), continued to operate. A great revelation of the competition, Beth Mead capsized the Sheffield stadium with a half-volley shot after perfect control (34th). Lucy Bronze with a header, Alessia Russo with a brilliant backheel (68th) and Fran Kirby with a poorly captured lob (77th) added some consistency to the English qualification.
The player: Lucy Bronze with good memories of her years in Lyon
Lyon supporters, who had the privilege of seeing her play from 2017 to 2020, are surely the last surprised by Lucy Bronze’s performance. The right side, who moved from Manchester City to FC Barcelona before the start of the tournament, was decisive on the two most important goals of the meeting.
The 30-year-old defender delivered the cross, after following the action well at the far post, on the opener. And she took it upon herself to double the bet with a header from a corner as soon as the locker room returned, thus scoring her first goal during this Euro. She, who has won everything with Lyon, will be keen to win her first national trophy.