Distraught Belgium players sought out family and friends standing on the other side of the advertising hoardings and slumped into their arms. The tears that flowed after the final whistle were understandable, the consoling embraces thoroughly deserved. They put everything into their country’s first appearance in a Euros quarter-final but it was not enough. Sweden left it late to secure a semi-final date with England at Bramall Lane on Tuesday.
The highest ranked team in the tournament needed a 92nd-minute winner scrambled home from a corner to overcome the lowest ranked side left in the competition. Linda Sembrant pounced after the Belgium goalkeeper and star of the show Nicky Evrard denied Sweden once again, saving Nathalie Björn’s shot at close range following a Kosovare Asllani corner, only for the defender to find the roof of her net with the rebound.
It was a cruel way to extinguish the Red Flames’ dreams but a deserved victory for Sweden after 34 attempts on goal. Only eight were on target, however, and England will be hugely encouraged by the problems Peter Gerhardsson’s team faced in front of goal all night. This was far from the statement of intent that Sweden had intended.
“We missed some quality in our final pass and we didn’t create 100% clear-cut goal scoring opportunities,” the Sweden coach admitted. “We have to look into that but the England game will be completely different. We have played England twice and so we probably know more about them and how to play against them than we would have done against Spain, but it will be challenging.”
Sweden were without both full-backs who started the 5-0 win over Portugal, Hanna Glas and Jonna Andersson having tested positive for Covid, prompting a Euros debut for Amanda Nildén and a first start of the tournament for match-winner Sembrant. The disruption contributed to a little uncertainty in the Swedish defence yet they dominated on a rainy night and fashioned enough chances to have established a commanding lead by half-time. Their failure to take any drove Gerhardsson to distraction.
Stina Blackstenius looked certain to open the scoring after Evrard saved superbly from Amanda Ilestedt’s back-post header. The ball dropped slightly behind the Arsenal striker, who stumbled yards in front of an open goal and allowed the Belgium keeper to gather at her feet. Gerhardsson, arms outstretched, was open-mouthed at the miss. He would be again when a corner from captain Asllani fell to Blackstenius two yards out. The striker was unable to force the ball beyond Evrard and Belgium escaped again.
Björn and fellow central midfielder Filippa Angeldal also missed decent openings although Sweden’s frustration was not down simply to their own profligacy. Blackstenius finally appeared to have opened the scoring when played through by the influential Asllani’s defence-splitting pass and beating Evrard with a confident finish. A lengthy VAR review, however, spotted a fractional offside, and Sweden’s long-awaited celebrations were cut short.
Belgium were not entirely besieged. In Laura De Neve they boasted an assured central defender who marshalled the backline impressively and exuded composure under pressure. Ives Serneels’ side also posed a threat of their own with Tessa Wullaert and Tine De Caigny, whose winner against Italy booked Belgium’s place in the last eight, dangerous on the counter-attack. The pair combined to tee up Justine Vanhaevermaet for Belgium’s best chance of the first half, the midfielder drilling a low shot just wide from outside the penalty area.
Sweden remained in control after the break but found it increasingly difficult to break down a well-organised, compact and disciplined Belgium team. A procession of shots from distance, many wide or straight at Evrard, showed patience was being tested.
The Belgium keeper, one of many semi-professionals in the squad in contrast to full-time pros throughout the Sweden camp, excelled again when Fridolina Rolfö hooked a deep free-kick back across goal for Blackstenius, who connected with a powerful, diving header from close range. Not for the first time the Arsenal forward looked on in despair as Evrard thwarted her effort with a fine reaction save.
Serneels introduced Elena Dhont to inject more pace and purpose into the Belgium attack and the switch should have paid dividends when the substitute broke down the right. Sembrant failed to intercept Dhont’s crossfield ball and De Caigny suddenly found herself in space approaching the Sweden area. De Caigny appeared caught in two minds over whether to shoot or cross and ultimately succeeded on neither count. Dhont was closer when sprinting clear and driving into the side-netting from a tight angle. But despite the late flourish and a resilient display, Belgium fell at the last.
“This is a hard moment for us,” said the Belgium coach. “But we should be proud at being here and playing a wonderful game against Sweden. We have a group of eight professionals. The first thing we should try is to come to the next tournament with 23.”
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