Sarina speaks as Lionesses seal EURO semi-final spot

Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman admitted she might even treat herself to a ‘glass of something nice’ after seeing her team progress to the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 semi-finals after a roller-coaster clash with Sweden.

After seeing her team go 2-0 down in the first half, before two goals in less than two minutes from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang turned the game on its head, Wiegman admits it was one of the most unique international games she’s ever coached in.

“It was one of the hardest games I’ve ever watched, very emotional,” said Wiegman, whose team became the first  to come back from a two-goal deficit and win in a Women’s EURO knockout game.

“We could have been out four or five times during the game. When you’re 2-0 down at half time, it’s not good.

“We started really bad in the game and then at the end of the first half we got better and in the second half we got better.

“But we didn’t create anything so we had to change shape and then of course we scored two goals, so that was crazy already.

“Then we go into extra-time with some injuries, cramp, Hannah [Hampton] with blood all over the place. Then we got to a penalty shootout and we miss a lot, but they miss even more and then we’re though.

“I’m just thinking about how this team turned it around again and how this team showed resilience.

“Sometimes we say we’re never done. Well tonight, we showed we’re absolutely never done.

“I need to decompress, I think.”

While England had prepared for the prospect of penalties in the build-up to the game, Wiegman also revealed how those plans can quickly change after an intense 120 minutes on the pitch.

“We already prepared that [penalty takers] before the game,” she added.

“So what would be the options and we have trained and we know the players’ preferences, but by the end of the game you have to know who is still on the pitch and who is confident to take one.

“So that went really quickly because we do it together with the technical staff, so I think that was the easiest job today.”

Wiegman also paid tribute to goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, who made a number of key saves in the game to keep England in with a chance at 2-0 down, in extra time and in the shootout itself when she made two saves.

“She had a very impressive performance,” she said. “She had some really good saves in the second half, that second save was really important.

“She had one penalty on the right side that was an incredible save. So a pretty good contribution today.”

The impact of Agyemang from the bench in the second half was also a key moment for the Lionesses, with the Arsenal teenager providing a different kind of threat up front and coolly slotting home the equaliser to register her second goal in three appearances for the seniors.

“This is basically why we selected her,” she said.

“We know Michelle hasn’t been in our environment for a long period of time but the moment she came in she did well and she brings something different.

“She has shown that in training, she has shown that against Belgium, she has shown that against France. She is so strong and she scores goals.”

England will now return to their basecamp to begin preparations for their semi-final clash with Italy, which takes place in Geneva on Tuesday 22 July.