Manchester United star Alessia Russo came off the bench to score an audacious goal and send heroic England to the Euro 2022 showpiece courtesy of a stunning 4-0 win over Sweden at Bramall Lane.
As dreams about winning the competition on home soil continue, strikes from Beth Mead and former Manchester City player Lucy Bronze put the Lionesses in control, before super sub Russo entered the fray and once again had a major say on the outcome. Fran Kirby added a fourth goal as England head on to Wembley.
Sarina Wiegman and her breathtaking team will take on Germany or France— with those two nations locking horns for the right to meet England — in the final on Sunday afternoon (5pm).
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Despite the huge reward on offer for the winner, it was a frantic start from both sides and there were, perhaps, a few more early openings than were to be expected. Mary Earps was called into action inside 40 seconds and, also, had to make another key save with 10 minutes on the clock.
Sweden were on top at that stage and struck the frame with another effort, but England had their own promising moments through ex-City midfielder Georgia Stanway — whose stunning winner put the Lionesses through to these semis — and former teammate Ellen White.
Neither of those chances really threatened to break the deadlock, though, and Kirby needed to be on hand at the other end to thwart a dangerous Sweden attack. She slid in at the last second to keep the score goalless and offer England a platform to go up the other end and strike first on the road to Wembley.
Predictably, it was Mead who got the finishing touch after more heroics earlier in the competition. With five goals to her name from four games already, the Arsenal forward made it six from five with a clinical touch, turn and finish to send Bramall Lane and the whole country into raptures.
Brushing aside any nervous tension, the Lionesses were quick out of the blocks upon the restart and doubled their within three minutes as Bronze nodded home. It needed VAR to take a second check, but that merely added to the drama and England had at least one foot in the Euro 2022 showpiece.
Their passage might have been more plain-sailing had Lauren Hemp kept her strike down after combining with sub Russo, but that miss mattered little in the end as Russo — who plays for WSL neighbours United — later backheeled home at the second attempt, before Kirby added gloss to the scoresheet.
It was far more comfortable than you would expect in a game of this magnitude, but can the Lionesses now go all the way? Their date with destiny comes beneath the famous arch on Sunday afternoon.
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