Sweden vs Belgium LIVE: Result and reaction as Sweden dramatically set up semi-final against England
Reaction as last-gasp Linda Sembrant goal books Sweden a semi-final against England on Tuesday
Defender Linda Sembrant fired a stoppage-time winner to give Sweden a 1-0 win over Belgium and set up a Euro 2022 semi-final against hosts England next Tuesday.
The Swedes kept Belgium pinned back for most of the first half and should have taken the lead when Stina Blackstenius slotted the ball home in the 25th minute. However, a VAR review showed that she was just offside when Kosovare Asllani passed her the ball and the goal was chalked off.
The second half was almost identical with the Swedes pouring forward and the Belgium defence standing resolute, and goalkeeper Nicky Evrard pulled off a brilliant reflex save to deny Blackstenius in the 73rd minute.
The game looked to be heading for extra time when the Swedes won a corner in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, and Sembrant reacted quickest to rifle the ball home to send the Swedes through to the last four.
Follow all the reaction from the Euro 2022 quarter-final as Sweden join England and Germany in the next round:
Sweden vs Belgium
The national anthems are sung, the players are ready. Who will make it through to the next round and set up a semi-final with England?
Let’s find out...
Sweden vs Belgium
The players are ready in the tunnel. There’s a lot of determined looking faces on both sides.
Sweden lead the way out onto the pitch.
Pre-match thoughts of Belgium boss
Belgium manager, Ives Serneels, says that his team did not get this far just to throw away their chance at reaching the Euros semi-finals and have a fighting mentality to go as far into the tournament as possible.
“We’ve already secured our first objective, which was qualifying for the quarter-finals.” he said, “But that does not mean that now we will not have a fighting mentality. We did not come this far to give it away.
“It’s hard to say what kind of game we will have. We are ready and everybody is fit in team Belgium, so I’ll bring the strongest team. But we’ll see how it goes.”
Sweden vs Belgium
The Belgium team have completed their warm-ups. They are ready for the quarter-final.
Pre-match thoughts of Sweden boss
“Belgium are a well organised team both defensively and offensively.” said Peter Gerhardsson, Sweden’s head coach.
“They are maybe the team of all the ones that we are going to meet that are most like a league [club] team, because you can see that they have spent a lot of time together.
“I hope we can continue with the things we’ve done. We have done very well defensively in all three games but the attacking play didn’t click as much until we played against Portugal. Hopefully we can keep working on that.”
Players to watch: Tine De Caigny
The 25-year-old struck the winner in the Matchday 3 success against Italy to secure only the Red Flames’ second Euros victory.
She is the only Belgian to have played every minute in both their Euro 2017 and 2022 group stage campaigns.
De Caigny was the top scorer overall in qualifying for Euro 2022, hitting 12 goals in her seven appearances, eight of them coming against Lithuania – five in a 6-0 home victory and three more away (9-0).
She has continued that form into the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, striking ten times in her eight outings including a hat-trick in a 19-0 win against Armenia on 25 November.
Players to watch: Stina Blackstenius
The 26-year-old Swede registered six attempts on target in the 2022 group stage with no player managing more.
Her goal in added time against Portugal on Matchday 3 was the Arsenal striker’s third in her five starts at the Euros.
Blackstenius struck in Sweden’s quarter-final ties at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic tournaments, and the 2019 World Cup.
The forward was the leading scorer with six goals as Sweden won the UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship in 2015.
Sweden vs Belgium
They come into the game as underdogs but can Belgium shock Sweden tonight and set up a semi-final with England?
Austria coach says England and Germany ‘pretty much on the same level’
Austria coach Irene Fuhmann believes there is little to choose between England and Germany at the Women’s Euro 2022.
Fuhmann’s side were beaten 2-0 by the Germans, although the result was only secured after Alexandra Popp capitalised on a 90th-minute error by goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger to add to Lina Magull’s first-half goal.
The eight-time winners are the second team into the semi-finals after hosts England but Austria’s coach cannot choose between the two as favourites.
Austria coach says England and Germany ‘pretty much on the same level’
Irene Fuhmann’s side were beaten 2-0 by the Germans
Sweden vs Belgium
These sides have been paired together for the first time in nearly 13 years.
Sweden recorded a 4-1 away win in the last encounter, a qualifier for the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Leuven in October 2009
They had won 2-1 in Gothenburg a month earlier with current Blågult attacker Kosovare Asllani opening the scoring and Sweden have won all four meetings with the Red Flames, scoring 13 goals, conceding just three.
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