England victorious after shootout chaos and Italy stun Norway – Women’s Football Weekly

24:54But actually, Falk had been absolutely superb. Four penalty saves. But then she stepped up to take that all important fifth penalty, sent it off target. I mean they clearly didn't practice them I love that she had you know the nails to stand up and do it but was it the right decision I mean ultimately it wasn't obviously that's a very silly question in some ways but you know what I'm trying to say

25:20Faye Carruthers:No it's the right question the fifth penalty did feel very early for the goalkeeper to be taking it when you think there were forwards still who hadn't taken one listen Phelps job first and foremost is as a goalkeeper and she made four fantastic saves at least three of them were really good saves in that shootout. And Farcan Holmberg have managed to put theirs over the bar. Eriksen's managed to hit the post. And then there was the two Hampton saves. So Sweden overall have missed five of their seven penalties. And you can't miss that many and think you're going to get through. They had so many chances.

25:55Faye Carruthers:As Johnny mentioned, they twice had a kick to win it. But they were never really convincing in their sort of conviction that they were going to score. I really want to applaud Hampton because I think particularly the save she made from Jakobsen the second time that Sweden had a chance to win it that was a fantastic save low to Hampton's right to tip it onto the post at a time when England really needed her Hampton said something really interesting after the game about Fout taking the fifth one she sort of said eventually that running through her mind that was one of the only players she didn't have any stats on and where she would go because they've got all these notes on the bottles haven't they So she kind of could think, okay, where's this player going?

26:35Faye Carruthers:But for Falk, she said, she had no idea where she would go. So it was all on me, which was what she said. As it was, Falk went over the bar. But yeah, completely chaotic penalty shootout. The ametri in the stadium was one of disbelief. The reactions of both ends was great fun to see fans just with their head in their hands, hiding behind their eyes, unable to watch. Great sporting drama. Like if you're going to delay the BBC News at 10, that's a good reason to delay it, right? for the nation to watch that chaos. I kind of loved it. If you could have sat and watched it while you weren't trying to file copy, you could have just soaked it all in.

27:13Faye Carruthers:It just appreciated how balmy it all was. I mean, what a shootout. It's much more fun that way than when it's like they score the first four each and then somebody who's the unfortunate player misses in the fifth one. And Sweden must be kicking themselves because you can't save four penalties out of the first six and not go through.

27:41Faye Carruthers:Sorry, Faye, I'm running out of the words to articulate. Sacrilege. It's terrible. Terrible. Chaos. Yeah. Complete chaos. And England did get away with one. And I completely agree with Johnny that once a few people start to miss, it probably gets into everybody's mind, doesn't it? and there were people who we've seen take very convincing penalties before, whether that be Greenwood, for example, who's normally so reliable from a spot. You know, we've seen people, Mead as well, people suddenly look at a completely different player stepping up to take the penalty because of those people that have missed earlier on.

28:14Yeah, actually, I watched Philippa Angledal step up for that first penalty for Sweden and you could see it all over her face. She didn't believe it. Yeah, we have to talk about Hannah Hampton, Marva. I mean, you know, bloodied and bruised by the end of it. It had very Terry Butcher-esque vibes, didn't it? With tissue or a tampon, whatever it was up her nose throughout the end of it. Some big saves as well, it has to be said, not just in the penalty shootout, but during the game as well to keep England in it. It's difficult to kind of ask this question, especially because of all the scrutiny she was under coming into the tournament with Mary Earps retiring.

28:53but did you feel like she maybe came of age in an England shirt in this game or is that a bit over the top? No, I don't think it's over the top. And I think actually probably this whole season for Chelsea was her coming of age. And I think previously I was always a little bit more like I would prefer Mary Epps just because I felt a little bit like Hannah Hampton might have a mistake in her. Whereas I think this previous season for Chelsea, she's really matured in that aspect and her decision making. And you saw even towards the end of this game where she was nervy. Of course she was. Everyone was.

29:26And she'd obviously made that slight error earlier in the game, which which Leo Williamson corrected. But sort of towards the end when she was nervy, rather than kind of trying anything, she was just like, I'm just going to kick us out of play and take the pressure off my team and take the pressure off myself. And I think actually that's the mature response to do, particularly in that moment. And yeah, like you said, she made some incredible saves. That one just before halftime. if that goes in that game is over like if it's 3-0 at halftime as much as we're saying England can turn it around and we just trust them to just get it done I can't see them doing it at 3-0 down at halftime so yeah she was incredible throughout and then for your first like major tournament penalty shootout to I know obviously somewhere over the bar but still to get some saves under your belt to dive the right way even when it did hit the post or go over she I feel like she can take that confidence now as well and hopefully you know all the kind of noise beforehand in terms of is she going to be experienced enough compared to to mary erps i think hopefully after that she can kind of take that that on board as well and go in with more confidence but yeah for the with a tampon up your nose as well when blurred vision and your head been been hit that that only adds to it Yeah.

30:39And talking Warriors, Lucy Bronze strapping up her own leg at one point. She scored the equaliser, arguably, particularly, let's not discuss that first hour, but, you know, afterwards, England's best player on the night, potentially alongside Chloe Kelly. 102 kilometers per hour that penalty passed Falk and she meant it didn't she she she did leather it first penalty for England as well but stepped up when her team needed her this is what she said post-match I watched the goalkeeper in every single penalty and she dived quite early and statistically in a penalty shootout it's quite risky for the goalkeeper to stand still and go down the middle and you're more likely to win if you go first winning the coin toss played into that So, yeah, I love maths, which I thought was brilliant.

31:32And I will mention, you know, within this, in fact, after we've given the love to Lucy Bronze for her performance, I will mention in this, you know, the work that the FA have done behind the scenes on penalties contributed to this without a doubt. But bar the four terrible penalties, all the other things that had been in place were really important. But Lucy Bronze discuss Johnny Lou.

31:57Jonathan Liew:That was, I mean, just the penalty itself was kind of iconic. And the way she, I mean, yeah, she rips off her strapping as she's walking towards the penalty spot and just chucks it behind her. And then she leathers the ball in and grabs it. And then after every penalty, there's a real kind of ritual because the goalkeeper wants to be the one who hands it to the next player, to the next taker. And Bronz grabs it and he smashes it into the ground like a wide receiver who's just scored a touchdown. And there was that real kind of simmering, seething anger almost to her all evening. Right from the moment, she decides to bomb forward and take that chance and make the run to the back post, just in case she gets lucky.

32:48Jonathan Liew:I think there is something really quite stirring. There are certain players who just want to do their jobs and they want to contribute. But ultimately, when it gets hot, they want to be the one who decides things. which is a really kind of a rare quality for a right back to have. And especially one who's been, you know, such a stalwart for England for so many years, who's been such a reliable player. But in those moments, yeah, I mean, she was everywhere. I didn't actually think, you know, she wasn't as bad as the rest of the, you know, some of the rest of the defenders in the side in that first hour.

33:27Jonathan Liew:I think that there were lots of times where sort of Williamson and Greenwood and Hampton and Carter were sort of passing it among each other. And Ron just said, I'm not, I'm in space over here. Just switch it. And they don't quite have the capability to play that 40-yard ball or maybe didn't have the confidence. And then obviously when they went to a three at the back, she got released to be a lot more aggressive down that right flank. And that was the key to it because obviously the reason why England had struggled so much during the game itself was that Sweden were basically winning the battle of the flags.

34:00Jonathan Liew:They were putting a lot of pressure and the full-backs couldn't link up with the wingers in the way that England intended to. And releasing bronze in that second half was, you know, it was a real kind of game-changing moment, I think. Not just tactically, but in terms of changing the whole feel of the game and the belief that England could do it. Yeah. Just a word about Sweden, Tom. It was a really sad end to Peter Gerhardsen's tenure and presumably as well some of his playing squad also. I wonder whether he slept last night. Like Marva said the adrenaline was going, but I mean, he was probably having nightmares about not having done a practice penalty session.

34:40They were so on the cusp. And former Matilda's manager, Tony Gustafsson, is going to be taking over the reins when he steps down. So where does Sweden go from here?

34:49Faye Carruthers:Yeah, he was crestfallen, Gerhardson. He said he was going to go back to the hotel and watch the game again, which sounded like torture, probably, like a glutton for punishment to endure it all again. And, you know, he essentially said, He was asked a few times, like, what next? And he just sort of couldn't look any further ahead than just how disappointed he was. Sudden is still going to be a strong force. You know, this isn't like the end of an era. But there will be some players who, you know, surely Islany won't still be in the core of that team, you know, for much longer, just from a natural age.

35:30Faye Carruthers:probably another maybe another tournament for Eriksen maybe two Braxinias will still keep going but it's not like it's the end of an era they've still got good young players coming through as we've seen with Holmberg they've got they've got players like Benison you know they've got they've got a lot more years left in Angledal there will still be a strong side they are just it's going to be hard for them to look back on the last decade and understand how they've not won a trophy like how how close they've been Think about the silver medals in two Olympic games, consistently in semifinals and the knockout stages.

36:06Faye Carruthers:And I think third in three of the last four World Cups, which when you consider that their men's team have failed to qualify for three of the last four World Cups, the contrast in their performance is incredible. And they deserve such praise for how they've done. But they'll come back from this. The improvement they've made from 2022 is stark. And I think they'll improve again. looking forward to seeing how they get on in the next tournament but they will be kicking themselves because you won't get many better opportunities they knocked out the holders in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand when they knocked out the USA on penalties and they've gone within a whisker of knocking out the holders here so they go home probably with a huge amount of praise but they'll be so bewildered and crestfallen as to how they've not gone through so it's going to take a little while to pick themselves up Yeah, bewildered is the right word.

36:57And actually, some of the Lionesses players, it was quite interesting watching the celebrations. The younger players in particular all ran over to celebrate. And some of the older players, Alex Greenwood, Kira Walsh, just stood there kind of shell-shocked in tears. Lucy Bronze very calm. It was really interesting seeing the range of emotions as that awful penalty was missed by Sweden. Just to round this up, we received an email from Jim Hearson. Dear Susie Faye et al, good luck analysing that game. Hopefully we gave it a good shot, Jim. It was absolutely something else, not necessarily in a good way as well.

37:35Abject first half, frustrating second. Those two minutes and possibly the worst penalty shootout on record. But it was enough. I'm going to try to be positive. Chloe Kelly changed the game. Absolutely. I don't feel like we've given her enough praise, actually. Lauren James did it all, including superb defensive work. And we've got the real Lucy Bronze back. No idea what's going to happen against Italy, but you certainly can't call the lionesses boring, can you? No, Jim, you cannot. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we'll have a look at the other quarterfinal as Italy saw off Norway in Geneva.

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38:53Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So a little bit of catching up to do again. The quarterfinals started on Wednesday night. Norway and Italy came face to face in Geneva. And ultimately it was Italy who booked their spot in a European Championship semifinal for the first time since 1997. It finished Norway 1, Italy 2, thanks to a 90th minute winner from Christiana Giurelli. her second of the match after a leveller from Arda Hegerberg. Jubilant scenes in Geneva in front of, obviously, a partisan crowd. You were there, Tom. What did you make of the game as a whole?

39:31Faye Carruthers:Well, Italy thoroughly deserved to win. I was so pleased to see them win because they were the better team. And it was such a lovely story as well, Italy. They've been a really nice story in this tournament. The support for them is growing. The atmosphere in Geneva from their fans was just really heartwarming and they've got a technically really good midfield. Severini, Caruso, Cantore all played very good games against Norway. And then Giurelli, the veteran striker with the two goals in the right place at the right time for both of them, is such a deserving player to be the heroine after the longevity of service.

40:14Faye Carruthers:she's given the national team. She was really emotional in the PES conference afterwards. You could tell how much it meant to them. And I thought they were the better team. Norway, desperately disappointing. They did have a good spell in the second half when they looked like the stronger side for about 25 minutes and you thought they were going to do it. But overall, they're going to have no complaints. Italy deserved it. And my only minor concern for Italy now is that the way they were speaking afterwards was as if that was their final, that they'd done it. They've made the semifinal. We've made the first semifinal since the 1990s for Italian women's football.

40:54Faye Carruthers:And the tone of it was almost like, we've done it. This is incredible. So that might work in their favour if they go into the semifinal as a bit of a free hit with no pressure. But the tone was quite different. There's a risk almost that they feel as though, like wow we've achieved everything we wanted to achieve now whereas they're good enough to keep going the way they've been playing they can cause England problems so coming out of a minute perspective I hope that they don't approach the semi-final as being job done which was the slight tone of their post-match they've got a lot to offer in the semi-final with the quality of the football they've played in midfield particularly with the quality that we saw from Caruso and Cantore they're a very good team Yeah, they are.

41:40And, you know, Cristiana Giurelli, Marva, 35 years old, 12 years with the national team, finished the season as Serie A top scorer with Juventus. She just kind of epitomises the Italians, doesn't she? How key was she? Oh, so key. You know, she could have had that one in the first half. But then that, particularly that second one, to head her across goal, I just thought was such good movement. Lots of questions as to why Guru Raiden was marking her in the back post, because why have you got the player who scored, I think, the most headed goals across all five leagues domestically being marked by a very small forward player?

42:22That just doesn't make sense. but that's a topic in a little bit when we go on to Norway. But yeah, I thought Jolly was brilliant. All throughout the tournament, she's been brilliant. She's led the line where she's needed. We brought it up in the preview pod as well in terms of what to look for in Italy. And I was particularly looking at Italy myself and saying that headers, free kicks, set pieces, but also just their physicality and kind of how organised they are, but then how direct they are. and I think what's really impressed me this tournament is that they've gone beyond that. It hasn't just been, okay, an organised team defensively who have then got this great striker who've taken their chances.

43:02I think how they've grown into this tournament and pushed in terms of their wing play, their physicality all over the pitch. I thought against Spain, they were brilliant. I know they lost 3-1 and I know it wasn't Spain's full first team but even so, I've seen many teams come up against Spain and do so much worse and they were really, really giving it to Spain, even in terms of individual battles, physicality-wise. I was really impressed with them. And then also just that thing of just like, they know what they're good at. They know they're not going to be, you know, passing it around and passing teams off the pitch.

43:36But I thought against Spain was a perfect example of how they did that, of just playing that ball through. When you don't have Giorelli, you've got strikers like Piemonte who can do a very kind of similar job and just wear defenders out. So yeah, I agree with Tom. I think they could give England a difficult game because I think where they've also been growing is in not just sitting back and being defensively solid, it's how they've grown in their press. And I think you saw that against Norway. When they actually stood up and pressed Norway, they caused them problems. And actually where England have really struggled is when teams have been pressing them and not when they've just been in a low block, which is kind of opposite to what England was struggling with before.

44:10So I also just think there's a blueprint there on how to hurt England and what Italy have. if they apply it well. I think they could cause some problems. And if I wasn't a big England fan, I'd be excited to see kind of what they do. Yeah, your dark horses that you didn't think were going to get out of the group. My dark horses. I said they'd cause some teams some problems. You did. I just didn't know how many problems. You did. Norway remain a conundrum, Johnny. Marva mentioned there. Guru Wright and starting at left back. I just still don't understand it. And they were passive for large portions of the game, just one shot on target registered as well.

44:54Blame obviously goes towards the manager and will be put at Gemma Granger's door. But we also have to remember that this is not the first time Norway have underachieved on a big stage. Where do they go from here, do you think?

45:11Jonathan Liew:Yes, I mean, it's the eternal conundrum, isn't it? And I think something that has baffled quite a lot of fans who obviously are familiar with the star players and wonder how a team with such rich individual talent keeps falling short. And we saw this at the last Euros. We've seen this at actually consecutive major tournaments. And in a way, Guru Raiden at left-back almost encapsulates the issue where you are trying to fit in so much individual talent that you end up unbalancing the team. And I think over the years, it's been increasingly hard to see an identity in how Norway play. You know how Spain are going to play.

45:53Jonathan Liew:You know how Sweden are going to play. There is a blueprint there. You know, Italy have a very defined style these days. You know, very, very sort of tactically rich and based on quick transitions. And, you know, I don't know, I don't watch more. I don't know how they expect to score apart from, you know, maybe give it to Arga and see if she does something with it. There is that element where they have not looked like a team for quite a few years. You know, they've switched between different formations. They've switched between different coaches. And I think what really needs to happen now is almost the sort of reckoning that the men's team needed.

46:29Jonathan Liew:Because, you know, from their kind of 90s peak, they really slipped down the ladder. And they basically needed to build that team up again from the bottom with very possibly a new pool of talent. You know, a fresh tranche of new players and a defined identity, a team that's built around the team rather than, you know, giving it to the big individual players and hoping that they come up with something. Yeah, I think it's a really, really good point. We've said right from the beginning of our preview of the Euros, how do you solve a problem like Norway? And they haven't managed to do it again. Let's look ahead to Tuesday's semi-final in Geneva, where England will face Italy for a place in the final.

47:15We've mentioned it a few times and we are going to do a proper preview on Sunday when we look back at the other two semi-finals. What are you most looking forward to, Tom, about it? Hopefully not as stressful as the quarterfinal.

47:29Faye Carruthers:Well, I'm looking forward to seeing whether or not Italy can have the sort of impact in the midfield, technically that they have had in their other games, you know, against Stirling them in field that we know if England are given, if England are afforded space in time, Walsh will dictate the game and England will be very, very strong. If Italy can stop that happening and get on the ball themselves, you know, and do what they did to Norway and also to Belgium and Portugal, then we could be in for a fascinating game. There'll be a few things at play here. Italy have had 24 hours extra rest. They won't have to travel.

48:08Faye Carruthers:They've kind of been in Geneva already. But you would still, you know, we shouldn't forget that England will go into it as the heavy favourites. They have got so much more experience with these semifinals now in their sixth semifinal in a row. I think the atmosphere will be fantastic in that stadium. It's really close to the pitch, unlike Dürich, where it's sort of you're behind this atmosphere-sapping athletics track. it's a good tight ground to the stadium I think it'll be a really good night but England now will go into it with incredible belief that no matter how bad they might start they'll still be able to find a way that it will be a huge opportunity for both of these sides to get to a final a massive opportunity because of the way that things have opened up with Spain and France and Germany on the other half so a big night, a really big night Yeah for sure concerns though Marva around Leah Williamson forced off with an ankle injury.

49:08It was a nasty role. She played on and then ultimately had to come off. She didn't look particularly comfortable in the post-match interviews. I suppose it's just a lot of work for the medical team to get her fit and ready. Yeah, and it's not just her either. I mean, you looked at the whole team by the end of the game and there was bleeding out of one nose and cuts on another face and a black eye still from Lauren James and Lucy Bronze taping up her leg and you just sort of thought, even if we get through, how many players can we even field against Italy at this point? But obviously, yeah, if Neil Williamson's out for the semis and final, if we do get through, that is a huge blow because not only is it your captain, but that level of experience at centre-back, while I say, you know, Esme Morgan came on and did brilliantly, you would have to shift around that back four a lot.

50:01And if you're already looking at the performance of Jess Carter in that game and thinking, is she going to start next game? That's a lot of shifting about to do and you don't want to be having to do that in a semi-final and possibly a final. So hopefully she's okay. But yeah, even the way she was responding in post-match interviews, it didn't seem positive. And hopefully she was just being cautious. But I think we're going to see a change in that back line. Johnny you know how terrible our predictions are so I'm leaving it to you myself Tom and Marva as well as Susie Soph so many pod regulars get it wrong all the time so it is down to you Johnny Lu how do you see this game panning out?

50:49Jonathan Liew:England will be fine England will be absolutely fine I agree with Tom I was watching the celebrations the Italy celebrations the other night and I'm thinking that's a team that's going to lose its semi-final and whoever it's against, to be honest, which is not to downplay Italy's achievement. I think it's huge for Italian football that they have reached this stage. I think it'll project women's football in Italy to an audience that I think has possibly been quite sceptical of it. I think Italy still has a lot more barriers to hurdle in that respect. But yeah, I think they've played their final and England have not yet played theirs.

51:26And as much as I see how Italy can theoretically hurt England, I don't see how they can live with them for 90 minutes. Could end up being a do-over if France can beat Spain. Could be a little bookend. France, England in the final, which would be fascinating. Right, the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco has reached the quarterfinal stage this weekend. 11-time WAFCON champions Nigeria faced Zambia on Saturday in a rematch of the third-place playoff in 2022. Nigeria top Group B, two wins and a draw, but they didn't concede a goal. Zambia, though, finished level on seven points with hosts and 2022 runners-up Morocco in Group A, but ended up finishing second on goals scored.

52:17And the hosts are favourites going into Friday's last eight clash against Mali, who progressed as one of the two best third-place teams. Morocco are the joint highest scorers in the tournament. Seven goals for them so far. Jelaine Shebak scored four of them. Tonight as well, Ghana face Algeria. They've also not conceded a goal yet this tournament, but they have only scored one as well. So I'm not expecting that to be a high scoring game. Finally, the defending champion South Africa take on another third place qualifier in Senegal in Rabat. That should be on paper straightforward for the Banyana Banyana.

52:52But Senegal, of course, carry a huge goal threat in Nguyen and Dye. So they could be looking to upset. The odds will keep you up to date with what's going on over in Morocco. And some domestic news to wrap up for you as well. Olivia Smith has become the first£1 million signing in Barclays WSL history after joining Arsenal from Liverpool. That is now confirmed. I know we spoke about it on the pod the other day. Aston Villa have signed Netherlands midfielder Jill Byings on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee. She's joining from Bayern Munich, having spent last season on loan at Villa, their third signing, of course, of the summer after the arrivals of defender Lynn Vilms and goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck.

53:32One in, one out as well, or actually two out, more out with Villa, but the WSL's record appearance maker, Jordan Nobbs, has joined WSL two-side Newcastle United after being released by Villa and more departures from the Midlands club with confirmation. Casey Robinson has joined Everson on loan. they have the option to buy as well. Right, I mean, we got through a lot there. I feel utterly exhausted, not quite as exhausted as I did after that penalty shootout. But Johnny, lovely to see you as always. Oh, yeah, thanks. Yeah, bye. Go back to bed.

54:09Jonathan Liew:Yeah, I think I will. Marva, take care. See you soon. See you soon. Tom, please get some rest.

54:17Faye Carruthers:I'm off to find my jacket, Faye. Have a great day. See you soon. Excellent. I hope I'm keeping all my fingers crossed for you. Right, we'll be back on Sunday to review the last two quarterfinals and look ahead to the semis. Keep having your say. Send in your questions via social media or email us at womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. And as ever, a reminder to sign up for our bi-weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts, sign up. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iredell.

54:50Our executive producer is Salamat.

54:56Jonathan Liew:This is The Guardian.

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