By 
With goals from Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo, and Fran Kirby in a thrilling 4-0 victory on Tuesday at Bramall Lane in front of an ecstatic sell-out crowd, hosts England easily defeated Sweden to advance to the Women’s Euro 2022 final.
The Lionesses got off to a shaky start, but after Mead scored a brilliant goal in the 34th minute to put them in front, it was all Sarina Wiegman’s squad could do to advance to the first major final for England women’s soccer since 2009.
With 11 straight victories, England will take on either Germany or France on Sunday at Wembley in an attempt to capture their first major title. Germany and France play each other on Wednesday.
The woodwork denied Sweden, the second-ranked team in the world, three excellent opportunities to grab the lead early on, and they paid a steep price.
England hardly deserved to be up at halftime, but Mead made a fantastic spin on the edge of the area and sent a shot past Hedvig Lindahl.
But in the second half, they turned up the style to create a festive environment inside the stadium.
In the 48th minute, Bronze headed in England’s second goal from a corner, and Lauren Hemp narrowly missed making it 3-0 when she hit the crossbar with a shot from replacement Russo’s low cross.
“I think at the full time whistle we didn’t really know what to do,” Mead said as the adopted British sporting anthem “Sweet Caroline” echoed around the Yorkshire arena.
Comments