TE24 Sports Desk:
BRIGHTON – England beat Spain 2-1 after extra time and reached the semi-finals of Euro 2022 thanks to a stunning goal from Georgia Stanway, recovering from the brink of defeat.
Ether Gonzalez’s opener gave the hosts an early exit, but Ella Toon had six minutes remaining before Stanway’s winner took England into the final four of four consecutive major tournaments. Saved the lioness.
Salina Wiefmann’s team will face either Sweden or Belgium in the round of 16 on Tuesday. England received a pre-match boost when Wegman returned to the touchline after testing negative for coronavirus earlier in the day.
The Lions scored 14 goals without reply against Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland, all of which were achieved in the group stage. Despite their own struggles to reach the knockout stages, Spain have taken a big step up in class.
La Rosa were pre-tournament favorites before injuries to Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putelas and all-time top scorer Jennifer Hermoso.
George Bilda’s side suffered their first defeat against Germany in the group stage since 2019, but the game was once again dominated by possession.
Spain’s ability to keep the ball away from the hosts frustrated the 29,000-strong crowd for most of the first 90 minutes in England and Brighton. But once again they struggled to convert their possessions into goals. despite At the back, the home team could have gone ahead before the break when Ellen White hit a loose ball into the roof of the net from a free kick and was flagged for offside. Since Wiefmann took over in September, England have gone 18 matches unbeaten.
However, they were never close to defeat during that period and had to fight back well to fight back from a goal deficit. Spain’s Athena del Castillo, who played, slipped through Rachel Daly and found Gonzales who had time to get a touch before firing into the far corner.
Mary Arps had to make a brilliant save to keep out the lively Del Castillo’s cross at the far post to double Spain’s lead. Wegman saves time by benching White, Fran Kirby and tournament top scorer Beth Mead and makes a surprising sacrifice to introduce Chloe Kelly, Alecia Russo and Toon. I did. These changes have had the desired effect in keeping England’s hopes of winning the first major tournament in women’s football alive.
Lorraine Hemp’s cross was headed in by Manchester United teammate Toon from close range by Rousseau. Suddenly, the momentum was completely in England’s favour, and six minutes into extra time they went ahead. Stanway stepped up before the Bayern Munich midfielder poked the ball over Sandra Panos from outside the box.
Itana Banmati was the most reactive when he shot wide early in the second half of overtime. But Spain is still waiting to win a knockout game at a major women’s tournament.
