England boss Sarina Wiegman conceded she was “disappointed” after her defending champions could only manage a 1-1 draw with Sweden to kick off their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign at Wembley.

Alessia Russo nodded home Lauren James’ delivery to open the scoring in the 24th minute, but it was the visitors who looked likelier to score as half-time approached.

The Lionesses preserved their lead until the 64th minute, when England’s concentration switched off and allowed Fridolina Rolfo to drift in and nod substitute Rosa Kafaji’s delivery past Mary Earps.

Wiegman said: “I think this group is really tough. Of course I’m disappointed, because we always want to win.

“I think we scored a great goal, there was momentum in the game, we played well and we kept the ball a little longer.

“Second half I thought the goal was really unnecessary. They scored because we gave away a throw-in and from that throw-in we weren’t able to take out the cross and they scored from that. That was disappointing.

“As we see Sweden is a very tough opponent. I do think we could have done a couple of things better, but also showed Sweden gave us a hard time at the moment.

“We just want to learn from these games, we want to do better every game as other countries want to do too. I think it just shows how close and how tight our competition is.”

England were perhaps lucky that Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius, who provided the winning strike in the Gunners’ League Cup final victory on Sunday, did not decide another contest this week.

She came achingly close when she found herself one-on-one with Earps shortly after the equaliser, instead directing her effort just wide of the England goalkeeper’s right post.

Wiegman made four second-half changes and staged a late rally, but were unable to find the finishing touch before the whistle blew on three minutes of added time.

Leah Williamson, who captained the Lionesses to their European triumph at Wembley in 2022, watched the entirety of the contest from the bench, almost a year out from her last England appearance.

The Arsenal defender, who was ruled out of last summer’s World Cup after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament, has experienced a number of setbacks since returning to the Gunners in January.

Wiegman, however, was quick to confirm her decision to bench the 27-year-old had nothing to do with fitness concerns that plagued Williamson in the build-up to these qualifiers, after she was substituted in the second half of the League Cup final.

She firmly stated: “She is not injured otherwise she would not have been in the squad, and I would have told you that she was injured.”

The England boss also disagreed with speculation by some pundits that she had prematurely substituted her goalscorer, who was swapped for Chloe Kelly in the 79th minute, explaining: “Alessia played well but tactically we wanted to change a couple of things. We brought Lauren Hemp inside. We just wanted something a little bit different.”

The last time these two sides faced each other was in the semi-finals of Euro 2022, when Russo memorably scored an audacious backheel in the 4-0 victory to earn a nomination for FIFA’s goal of the year.

Friday’s meeting was a much closer affair, with Sweden boss Peter Gerhardsson later revealing he was pleased by the way his side’s plan to shut down England midfielder Keira Walsh – who wore the captain’s armband – had worked.

He said: “It’s one point each now, and it’s five more games. We don’t know what is going to happen.”

Defending champions England kicked off their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw against Sweden in front of 63,248 at Wembley.

Alessia Russo nodded home Lauren James’ delivery to open the scoring inside 24 minutes, and the Lionesses managed to preserve their lead at the break despite Sweden threatening.

An equaliser felt imminent after the interval, and finally came when Fridolina Rolfo headed past Mary Earps, while the Lionesses were lucky not to fall behind when Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius squandered a good chance for Sweden.

Euro 2022 captain Leah Williamson watched on from the bench as Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp led a late rally, but could not find the finishing touch as the sides settled for a point.

Williamson missed out on the Lionesses’ historic World Cup campaign last summer after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament, and was also forced to pull out of February’s friendlies with a hamstring issue after being named in her first England side in 11 months.

The 27-year-old made her Gunners comeback in January but the journey has not been smooth with her most recent setback coming during Sunday’s League Cup final, which she started with a taped-up knee before being replaced in the second half.

Grace Clinton tried to volley England into an early lead, and there was worry for Sarina Wiegman when Russo went down after clattering into former Chelsea skipper Magdalena Eriksson, receiving lengthy treatment to her lower leg before she was deemed fit to continue.

Barcelona’s Rolfo came close with Sweden’s first good chance, sending Earps sprawling with a low effort that edged just wide of the far post minutes before Russo broke the deadlock.

It began with a fine effort by James to control the ball at the edge of the area and deliver a pinpoint clipped cross to the awaiting Russo, who stooped to head home in the 24th minute.

Sweden looked to reply on several occasions and largely looked the more threatening side in the half’s closing stages, but England clung on to their lead as Wiegman made her first change, swapping Clinton for Ella Toone, before Lucy Bronze had a weak header simply saved by Jennifer Falk.

Sweden boss Peter Gerhardsson made a pair of his own changes, a move that proved prescient when England momentarily switched off and allowed substitute Rosa Kafaji to make an instant impact, delivering the cross for Rolfo to nod past Earps.

England were lucky not to concede a quick second when Arsenal’s Blackstenius, who netted the winner in the Gunners’ Conti Cup final, found herself one-on-one with Earps but directed her effort wide.

On came more Euro 2022 stars – that tournament’s Golden Boot winner Mead in place of James and Chloe Kelly, who memorably scored the winner in that tournament’s final, while Jess Carter replaced Chelsea team-mate Niamh Charles.

The Lionesses had less than 10 minutes to alter the outcome, and they came close when Hemp latched on to the rebound of her own effort and fired a shot that Falk, who had slide out to make the initial save, would have had no chance of stopping.

It took a well-placed Eriksson to clear off the line, the stalemate standing after a fine save from Falk to deny Mead and preserve the point.

England midfielder Grace Clinton is excited to “hit the ground running” as the Lionesses start their European Championship qualifying campaign this week.

The defending European champions kick off against Sweden at Wembley on Friday before facing Republic of Ireland in Dublin four days later.

England then play France at St James’ Park in May and Tottenham loanee Clinton believes the side will need to be on “top form”.

“It was drawn right after the last camp, it’s a really competitive group but that’s always going to happen when you’re in such an amazing tournament,” Clinton told a press conference.

“I think we’re all really excited to get started to be honest and hit the ground running.

“(Sweden are) another team that has amazing depth and are a really strong side, they’re very physical and quite direct, score goals. So we’re going to have to be on top form if we want to get a result against a team like that.”

Clinton has two senior England caps under her belt already having made her debut in two friendlies in Spain, which included a debut goal in the Lionesses’ 7-2 victory over Austria.

After impressing in Spain, the 21-year-old will be aiming for more minutes in this month’s qualifiers and believes she has gained more confidence since making her senior bow.

She said: “It brings so much more confidence, in the lead up to getting your first cap you’re always going to be very nervous and now that you’ve been out with the girls on the pitch and really gone in the deep end it just feels a lot more natural when you’re in training.

“You have far more confidence to express yourself each time.”

Captain Leah Williamson is aiming to make her international comeback in the upcoming matches.

A post on the official Lionesses X account confirmed the defender was following an “individualised session” on Tuesday and Clinton is looking forward to seeing Williamson back on the pitch.

“It’s my first camp with Leah back in and she’s one of the best in the sport isn’t she? So it’s amazing to have her back,” she said.

“Obviously she’s getting integrated slowly and we’re only a couple of days in, so it’ll be really nice to get her back with the team on the pitch.”

Beth Mead admits England’s Euro qualifying group is “not the nicest” but hopes they can achieve “consistency” in their upcoming fixtures.

The Lionesses begin their European Championship title defence with qualifying games for next year’s tournament, starting with Sweden at Wembley on April 5 before facing the Republic of Ireland in Dublin four days later. Group A3 also includes France, who England will play in May.

April’s fixtures will be the first set of competitive games since their Nations League disappointment in December, where England’s hopes of securing a spot for Team GB in the Paris Olympics were ended and Mead believes they are in a “tough group” for the upcoming qualifiers.

Speaking about her reaction to the draw, the England forward told PA news agency: “We came in from training, saw the draw- it’s not the nicest group in the world!

“I think me and (Arsenal team-mate) Katie McCabe had a little joke about having to play against each other and winding each other up with her playing for Republic of Ireland.

“There’s no easy game in women’s football these days and I think we’ve ultimately got a very tough group and we’re going to have to be on top of our game to do very well in this group.

“I think the biggest thing for us as an England squad is consistency, we let ourselves down in some Nations League games and now we’ve just got to be consistent in the way we play, the way we’re building.

“Hopefully we can get two wins on the board this international break which puts us in really good stead for the rest of the games in the group.”

Mead is an ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football and was celebrating the return of sessions, which will see 500,000 children across the UK provided with free football coaching this spring.

She is in action on Sunday as Arsenal hunt for silverware in the Continental Tyres League Cup Final against Chelsea at Molineux, but after the international break only five Women’s Super League games remain.

The title race is out of Arsenal’s control with the team sat six points away from joint-leaders Chelsea and Manchester City, and Mead admits the Champions League is the target now.

“I think looking forward to the rest of the season as a team we’ve got to, as cliche as it sounds, game by game, three points on the board,” Mead added.

“Our ultimate goal now is to get Champions League football and you never know what happens in football, but it’s out of our hands title-wise now and we’re very aware of that.

“Throughout the season itself I think consistency has been our biggest problem, we’ve been a little bit up and down with some games, lost some games that arguably we probably shouldn’t have.

“That’s something we need to rectify going to the end of the season, then we reset and start again fresh next year.”

Mead also has an eye on former club Sunderland, who are top of a tightly-contested Women’s Championship with three games to go.

Four other teams remain in the running to secure promotion to the WSL and Mead, who joined Arsenal from the Black Cats in 2017, highlighted the importance of keeping all the women’s leagues competitive.

“I’ve been to a few games in the Championship this season, I obviously follow Sunderland still and they’re top at the moment so hopefully they can keep themselves there,” she said.

“It’s amazing to see how much talent is coming through and the backing these clubs in the lower leagues are getting from the men’s side of things.

“That’s what we want to keep doing, we want to keep every league as competitive as possible and make England still one of the best leagues in the world.”

Beth Mead was celebrating the launch of this year’s McDonald’s Fun Football programme, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. Sign up now for your nearest FREE session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football.

England will face Denmark, China and an as-yet undecided qualifier at next year's Australia/New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup, as holders the United States face fellow 2019 finalists the Netherlands.

The Lionesses, heading into their first major tournament since claiming Euro 2022 glory on home turf, will compete in Group D following Saturday's draw in Auckland.

Sarina Wiegman's side will meet fellow UEFA outfit Denmark alongside Asian Cup holders China, plus one of Chile, Senegal or Haiti, who are due to complete their qualification battle in February next year.

All eyes will be on Group E however, where the USWNT will meet Wiegman's old team once more, four years on from defeating them in the final at France 2019.

They are joined by Vietnam, as well as another unknown qualifier who will be confirmed at the start of next year.

Elsewhere, the Republic of Ireland face hosts Australia in Group B, along with Canada and Nigeria, while co-hosts New Zealand take on Norway, Switzerland and the Philippines in Group A.

Japan, finalists in 2015, have been pitted against Spain, Zambia and Costa Rica in Group C, while France, Jamaica and Brazil - alongside the third and final remaining qualifier - make up an intriguing Group F.

Sweden, downed by England in the Euro 2020 semi-finals earlier this year, headline Group G alongside South Africa, Italy and Argentina. Germany are in Group H with Morocco, Colombia and South Korea.

The tournament begins on July 20 next year, before reaching its climax with the final at Sydney's Stadium Australia four weeks later on August 20.

England Women have rocketed to fourth place in the FIFA rankings after winning Euro 2022 – but they still trail Sweden and Germany, two of the teams they beat on the way to glory.

The list continues to be headed by World Cup winners the United States, who are due to face England in an October friendly at Wembley.

Germany climb above Sweden to take over second place after reaching the European final, but the Swedes hold a narrow lead over England.

That is despite England thrashing Sweden 4-0 in the semi-finals of the Women's Euros, before going on to beat Germany 2-1 after extra time in the final.

England were eighth in the rankings prior to winning the European title for the first time but have vaulted above France, the Netherlands, Canada and Spain.

Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to Euro 2017 glory, repeated the feat this year as manager of England and is set to be offered an improved contract by the Football Association ahead of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Brazil remain ninth after winning the Copa America Femenina, beating Colombia in the final, while Women's Africa Cup of Nations champions South Africa nudged up four places to 54th on the list.

England star Lucy Bronze has revealed she is playing through pain caused by a knee injury in order to help the Lionesses' bid a first major tournament victory, having netted in a 4-0 semi-final rout of Sweden.

Bronze's header put England two goals up against the Swedes at Bramall Lane, after which Alessia Russo's incredible backheel and Fran Kirby's long-range strike helped the hosts record the biggest ever victory in a Women's Euro semi-final.

Tournament hosts England, beaten European Championship finalists in both 1984 and 2009, will now take part in the showpiece final at Wembley on Sunday.

And Bronze, who scooped FIFA's The Best Women's Player award in 2020, is blocking out the pain in an attempt to help her country to glory, as she played down her last-four goalscoring feat.

"I've just got to play through it," Bronze said. "There are plenty of players who are having to play through pain in their career and I'm now one of them.

"I don't feel like I did a couple of years ago. The Lucy Bronze of a couple of years ago was 'the best player in the world'. 

"It's been difficult to come back from a knee injury which has lingered for a very long time and still is now."

Bronze added: "The goals and assists are not something I consider a major part of my game. I'd much rather the likes of Beth and Ellen [White] and Hempo [Lauren Hemp] get on the scoresheet. I enjoyed it, though. I'd not scored in a Euros.

"I'm still happy to be contributing to the team, still playing good football, obviously getting an assist for Beth [Mead] and getting her up there to get the Golden Boot. It would be nice to be part of her little individual journey."

England ended a run of three successive major semi-final defeats with their resounding win in Sheffield, having fallen in the final four at the 2017 Euros and the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.

And Bronze believes those painful experiences made Tuesday's win even sweeter, adding: "For players like myself and Ellen and Fran, who've experienced a lot of semi-final defeats, it's nice to get over those defeats, get over the line and finally get ourselves in the final. But it’s certainly not job done."

Meanwhile, England boss Sarina Wiegman has come in for praise after leading the side through an unprecedented 11-match winning streak, the Lionesses scoring 104 goals in her 19 games at the helm.

Bronze believes Wiegman's ability to keep the squad grounded has been a major factor in their terrific run on home soil, adding: "It's just practical information she's giving. I think that being Dutch, she's to the point. She tries not to get carried away. 

"It's quite funny that pretty much everyone in the whole of Holland said they've never seen Sarina Wiegman jump around like she did after the Spain game!

"I think she said herself that the Spanish performance was one of the best she'd ever seen – to come through that was amazing not just for the team but for her as a manager and coach.

"In a home Euros there's a lot of emotion and a lot of support. We don't want to get carried away too much and she's one of those people that is very process-driven. 

"She's very excited, but once the game's done we're on to the next game. We don't get carried away with our emotions but on and off the field we still enjoy the game and still enjoy the moment at the right time."

Sweden's Magdalena Eriksson has bemoaned her side's early missed chances after they were thumped 4-0 by England in their women's Euros semi-final.

Sofia Jakobsson could have put the Swedes ahead after just 30 seconds, while Stina Blackstenius also hit the bar early on.

And they then fell behind after 34 minutes when Beth Mead smashed home from inside the box, before second-half goals from Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Fran Kirby finished things off.

It means that it will be England who will play either Germany or France at Wembley Stadium on Sunday as they bid to win their first European Championship, after losing in the final in 1984 and 2009.

Chelsea defender Magdalena Eriksson was frustrated after the game, telling reporters: "I'm very disappointed of course, there's a lot of emotions at the moment.

"An extreme disappointment, it's a tough one to take because we started the game extremely well. We could have been one or two nil up after 20 minutes.

"When you don't score, you don't take your chances, when you don't score when you have momentum, it's tough.

"The timings of their first two goals are really crucial. It just became too much of a challenge when it was 2-0."

Sarina Wiegman is determined for England to make their dreams come true after they reached the final of the Women's Euros with a 4-0 win over Sweden on Tuesday. 

The Lionesses put a run of three straight semi-final defeats at major tournaments behind them to reach a showpiece match for the first time since 2009. 

England are now unbeaten in 19 matches since Wiegman took charge and head into Sunday's final against Germany or France on an 11-game winning streak. 

Stina Blackstenius hit the bar early on for Sweden but Beth Mead put England in front in the 34th minute and Lucy Bronze doubled their lead shortly after the restart. 

Alessia Russo's brilliant backheel put the Lionesses out of reach and Fran Kirby capped a magnificent team display by chipping Hedvig Lindahl in the 76th minute. 

"The second half we did really well. I thought in the first half we struggled a little bit. The second half we had total control of the game and got some more space," Wiegman, who became the first coach to lead two different nations to a Women's Euros final, told the BBC. 

"We'll celebrate now a little bit. But as I said before the tournament, we have a dream. We've come very far, but now we want to take it away. 

"In the second half we played so much better. I think it was such a good performance that everyone will talk about it. 

"I think we have shown a couple of times that we're very resilient. I thought we didn't start well so we had a hard time. But the players found a way in the game to get out of their pressure, and I'm so, so incredibly proud of them." 

Mead's goal was her sixth of the competition – the most an England player has managed in a single edition of the Euros – and moved her one shy of the record tally set by Inka Grings in the 2009 tournament. 

The Arsenal forward also set up Bronze and Kirby, taking her total goal involvements at Euro 2022 to 10. 

"At the full-time whistle we didn't really know what to do! We’re ecstatic to be in the final," said Mead. 

"I enjoyed my goal – I think it came at a good time, as they’d had chances and there was pressure on us. I'm happy to help the team again." 

Alessia Russo's stunning backheel goal helped England to a brilliant 4-0 win over Sweden at Euro 2022, ending their wait for a semi-final success. 

The Lionesses weathered a strong start from Sweden that saw Stina Blackstenius rattle the crossbar and they took the lead when Beth Mead drilled home in the 34th minute. 

Lucy Bronze doubled England's lead three minutes after the restart and a moment of magic from substitute Russo put England out of reach in the 68th minute.

Fran Kirby audaciously chipped Hedvig Lindahl with 14 minutes remaining, as England ended a run of three straight semi-final defeats at major tournaments and booked their place in Sunday's showpiece at Wembley.

England needed Mary Earps to keep Sofia Jakobsson at bay after just 20 seconds, with Sweden's bright start seeing Blackstenius hit the bar with a header from a corner in the ninth minute. 

The game soon settled down but England controlled possession and they were rewarded when Mead controlled Bronze's cross expertly and fired a fine finish beyond Lindahl. 

Bronze placed a header from Mead's delivery into the bottom-left corner as the Lionesses made a phenomenal start to the second half, with the bar stopping Lauren Hemp from making it three before the hour mark. 

Earps did brilliantly to keep Blackstenius at bay as Sweden looked for a way back into the game but Russo backheeled a shot through Lindahl's legs to sap Sweden's resolve.

Kirby completed the scoring when she spotted former Chelsea team-mate Lindahl off her line to round off a resounding win for the Lionesses at Bramall Lane.

David Beckham has wished Sarina Wiegman's "inspiring" England team good luck ahead of their Women's European Championship semi-final clash with Sweden on Tuesday, as the Lionesses look to end a run of major semi-final defeats.

Wiegman's side have produced several scintillating performances as tournament hosts, scoring a remarkable 14 goals as they cruised through a group containing Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland, before coming from behind to clinch a 2-1 quarter-final win over Spain.

Georgia Stanway's extra-time stunner against La Roja was the 100th goal England have scored in just 18 matches under Wiegman, while their current 10-game winning run is their best ever such streak.

However, England are likely to face a tough test when they meet Sweden in their Bramall Lane semi-final, having fallen at this stage in three consecutive major tournaments (the 2017 Euros and World Cups in 2015 and 2019).

Ahead of that vital contest, the Lionesses have been wished well by England legend Beckham, who thanked the team for inspiring his own daughter through their performances.

"I just wanted to send you a message, firstly, to say congratulations on an incredible tournament so far," Beckham said in a video posted to the team's Twitter account.

"It's been so uplifting, it's been so exciting, and it's been so inspiring. For me personally, I have a daughter, and for her to be inspired by you girls and your performances has been incredible.

"But it's not just the girls being inspired, the boys are getting inspired as well by this, we all know that when big tournaments come around, our country and our fans get behind us like no other.

"It's been incredible to see the performances but for me personally, the game against Spain was what really brought the nation together.

"To win a game like that, in that manner, has really uplifted the whole country.

"Good luck for the semi-final, we're all behind you, we're all excited to see it and I know there's one person that is really excited to see it; my daughter Harper. Thank you for inspiring her and good luck girls."

Should England extend their fine run with victory in Sheffield, a Wembley final against either Germany or France – and a shot at a first major tournament success in the women's game – will await on Sunday.

England must focus on the present if they are to end their semi-final hoodoo when they take on Sweden in the last four of the Women's Euros, says Sarina Wiegman. 

The Lionesses will contest their fourth straight semi-final at a major tournament at Bramall Lane on Tuesday, having reached the stage in successive World Cups either side of the 2017 European Championship. 

England have featured in five previous Euros semi-finals and only progressed from two of them, in 1984 and 2009. 

Wiegman, who is yet to taste defeat in 18 matches in charge of England, wants the team to forget their previous defeats as they look to close in on a first major trophy. 

"I think it is necessary to be in the now and I do think you always have to learn from your experiences and take out the things you can take out to be better, become better or to learn," said Wiegman in a pre-match news conference.

"But it's no use now to talk about that all the time because it's now. It is now. So why should we talk about that all the time? 

"We first have to play a semi-final and that's the only thing that counts. Again, we're in the now. All the focus is on our game against Sweden – that's the only thing we talk about. 

"How do we want to play? How do we collaborate as a team? How do we try to exploit their weaknesses, take out their strengths and use our own strengths? That's the only thing we're talking about. 

"I think reaching the semi-final has been really great already and we saw that we brought a lot of inspiration. 

"But I think our fans gave us a lot of inspiration too. We are only focused on tomorrow and that's what it is, and we hope we get the result we want. 

"The England team is ready to play the best game against Sweden, and hopefully we can inspire the nation." 

Millie Bright scored an own goal in the Euro 2017 semi-final loss to the Netherlands and was sent off as England fell to the United States in the last four of the 2019 World Cup. 

She said: "We are on a new journey. It's a new path for us as a group. Like I said, [we've got] different players in, so for us it's kind of a fresh slate almost and again we focus on the here and the now. 

"The position we are in as a squad going into this game is that we are in a very good position and we are ready to fight. Everyone is feeling great." 

Sweden's Kosovare Asllani has criticised the use of VAR at the Women's Euros and referred to the tournament's approach as "strange" ahead of her side's semi-final against England at Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening.

The criticism comes after Rebecka Blomqvist had a goal disallowed against Switzerland in her team's 2-1 group stage victory.

The Swedish football assocation contacted UEFA afterwards over the incident, and Asllani has personally been critical of the amount of VAR cameras that are being used in the competition.

The 32-year-old told reporters: "Well using 50 per cent fewer cameras in our tournament than in the men's game, that’s a catastrophe really because the decisions can’t be made with the same precision.

"It's not just for us, there are other teams. There are situations where you should have more cameras and it can be really decisive.

"I think it's strange because I like VAR, I think it’s fair when they have it, but if we have one game where they make a mistake, because they draw the line on the wrong side, and we heard they don’t have the same number of cameras, for me it’s not acceptable."

Manager Peter Gerhardsson also spoke on the matter, commenting: "There shouldn’t be a difference whether it’s women's or men's football.

"It’s not good enough that there are goals that are disallowed that way when VAR is incorrect.

"My feeling is, sometimes we put too much trust in VAR. We’re going to have to hope that they’ve looked at improving themselves for the semi-final tomorrow."

Despite missing training in recent days, it's understood that Milan forward Asllani will be available for the huge clash with hosts England, as both teams bid to reach the final at Wembley on Sunday evening.

England are looking to avoid losing a fourth consecutive major tournament semi-final when they take on familiar foes Sweden at Bramall Lane on Tuesday.

The Lionesses cruised through the group stage, scoring a record 14 goals in the process, before surviving a scare to overcome Spain 2-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals.

Reaching this stage is nothing new for England, having also made it to the final four of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, either side of their run to the semis at Euro 2017.

However, they suffered defeat on all three of those occasions, going down to Japan, the United States and the Netherlands respectively.

Fran Kirby played in each of those losses and is extra motivated to go at least one step further this time around on home soil.

"I don't want to be another player that loses in another semi-final and doesn't get to a final of a major tournament with England," she said.

"We spoke about the semi-finals we have lost previously and it takes a long time to recover from losing a semi-final like that. 

"I don't want to experience having to take a month to get over not getting to a final. It would mean everything to reach a final with this England team."

Ahead of the showdown in Sheffield, Stats Perform picks out some of the key Opta facts.

SEMI-FINAL PEDIGREE

Not only are England competing in a third straight major semi-final, this will also be their sixth appearance at this stage of the Euros (also 1984, 1987, 1995, 2009 and 2017).

They have progressed from just two of the previous five, though, and were heavily beaten 3-0 by the Dutch five years ago.

Sweden are into their ninth semi-final in this competition. After advancing from three of the first four, they have since lost three of the past four, most recently in 2013.

WE MEET AGAIN

England and Sweden are meeting in the Women's Euros for a seventh time, making it the third most played fixture behind Germany against Norway and Germany versus Italy.

The Lionesses have won only one of those past six encounters, with that solitary victory coming in the second leg of the 1984 final, which they went on to lose on penalties.

History is not only on Sweden's side when these sides meet in this competition, but also in overall meetings with England down the years.

Indeed, only against Germany (21) have England lost more times against an opponent than they have Sweden (15), with those defeats coming across 29 matches.

FORM SIDES COLLIDE

That past is the past, though, and England find themselves in superb form. With their comeback win against Spain, they have won 10 matches in a row – their best-ever streak.

Georgia Stanway's extra-time winner in that game was the 100th goal scored under head coach Sarina Wiegman in 18 matches, meaning they have averaged 5.6 goals per game.

That makes for a tantalising contest in Sheffield as Sweden are the highest-placed contender on the FIFA rankings list, sitting second behind the United States.

Bidding for a first trophy since the 1984 Euros, Sweden are undefeated since March 2020 and a staggering 34 matches in total.

Something has to give in this latest clash between the heavyweights, however, with a showdown against either Germany or France awaiting in Sunday's final.

Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl believes the investment and improvement in the English game in recent years means her nation's good record against their Women's European Championship semi-final opponents will mean very little.

The Swedes needed a late Linda Sembrant goal against Belgium in their quarter-final to advance to play tournament hosts England, who edged past Spain 2-1 in the last eight thanks to an extra-time thunderbolt from Georgia Stanway.

The two teams will face off on Tuesday at Bramall Lane, Sheffield for a place in the final.

England have won just three of their 26 meetings with Sweden in all competitions (D8 L15), while they have only lost more often against Germany (21) than they have against the Swedes.

However, when asked if this impressive record gives them an advantage during the team's media day on Sunday, former Chelsea stopper Lindahl said: "No, because we all know the development that's been in the English league, and the investment that's gone into English football in the last seven years.

"I know it first hand because I came to Chelsea in 2015 and I've seen the game take off in England. Obviously that will have an effect on the national team, because the league has grown and people have to grow with it. So you can't really rely on history.

"But what I do take with me is that we know these are players we've beaten. We've managed to beat them before and we can do it again."

The 39-year-old has made eight saves across her team's four games so far, conceding just two goals, and is looking forward to returning to Sheffield, where Sweden played their first two games against the Netherlands and Switzerland.

"I had imagined coming into this tournament that we would face England at some point. I wasn't aware of when we were able to see each other," she said. "I thought it was going to be at Wembley, but now it's in Sheffield, and I think that's a good thing for us because we played a few games there. It's kind of like our home pitch, and so I look forward to it."

Lindahl is well aware of the dangers England pose, with tournament top scorer Beth Mead in the form of her life, scoring five goals in the Euros and having had a hand in 31 goals in all competitions under Sarina Wiegman so far (19 goals, 12 assists) in 18 games.

"I think we've all seen how much success they've had with their wingers, especially Beth Mead," Lindahl added.

"They have quality players in every position and two of them in every position. So I think we're gonna face a collective, well-organised team under the leadership of their new coach. So it's going to be a tough one."