by By Laura Howard
Sarina Wiegman admitted that the English quarter -final victory was the most chaotic game that she had ever experienced because of punishments against Sweden.
The lions returned from two goals to score 2-2 in the normal time before they won 3-2 in a penalty shot in which nine Misses were seen before Lucy bronze buried their sudden death spot kick and Smilla Holmberg.
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It means that England will compete against Italy on Tuesday, but Wiegman couldn’t think any further when she tried to process the emotions of a tense night in Zurich.
“I’m very hyper,” she said. “I am still very emotional and I think the adrenaline is still in my body. It was a crazy game.
“It was absolutely the most chaotic game that I was part of. I can’t remember something like that.”
England scored a goal in two minutes when Kosovare used a mistake on the back at the start of the opening.
It was just the first warning side of a bad first half from the English team, which returned to the first game against France in which the passports were misleading.
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England would admit a second in 25 minutes when Stina Blackstenius raced to Julia Zigiotti Olmes to the strike and Wiegman admits that it was not the start that they had hoped for.
“Of course we wanted to start the game much better than we do. In the first two or three minutes we were 1-0 and of course that’s not a good start,” she considered.
“Then they quickly scored the second goal and we really fought to come into play.
“You want to start playing football, but we didn’t do that. Then think about how I can help the team to play better?
“In the second half I thought we had played a little better, but we didn’t create that much.
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“If you are in the 18-yard box and put the ball in, they are so defensive that you either have to go far or create something on the edge of the box, and we have to fight with it.
“So you only need a few players with different attributes in the game that change the picture.”
These players came in the form of a triple substitution in the 70th minute when Beth Mead, Esme Morgan and 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang entered the field.
But it was Chloe Kelly who achieved a real influence when she competed eight minutes later to support Lucy Bronze’s header and build Mead to nod equalizer after Aggyemang.
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“They bring something different into play,” said Wiegman. “That really helped the team at that moment.
“In addition, Sweden had to adapt to various things we do and before they could adjust it, it was 2-2. So that was the strength of it today.
“Niamh Charles also came in and she had a crucial header to win this duel and keep it 2-2.
“It is really difficult to come in, in this intensity and showing up and doing the right things is really impressive. That shows the strength of this team.”
It was a strength that they wore in a penalty shootout after the 30 minutes of the extension remained goalless.
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England missed four of his seven punishments, with Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Lucy bronze converted the only ones. Fortunately for her for her, Sweden was even more wasteful.
“I thought we were traveling twice today,” admitted Wiegman. “There were so many punishments that I was really worried. It takes a little luck, which they then miss.
“In the finalissima and against Nigeria we had really good shootings and today we were not good enough, let it express it.
“Of course I was concerned because we were missing and I know that the players are able to get a punishment because they are really good.
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“You can talk about reasons, the tiredness, the whole picture, I think it was just really difficult. But of course we were worried.
“We have trained penalty shootouts and know what the players are able to do and we will of course prepare, but it won’t be a big focus in front of Italy.”
