England may have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s European Championship on Thursday night, but they very nearly spurned their opportunity after missing four penalties in a chaotic shootout.
Alessio Russo, Chloe Kelly and Lucy Bronze were the only England stars to score in the shoot-out, which remarkably saw just five of fourteen spot kicks converted.
Despite her goalkeeping heroics in keeping Sweden in the tie, Jennifer Falk was unable to bury Sweden’s fifth penalty, which would have sealed their victory and a final four tie with Italy.
The shootout has since come in for criticism – with Falk herself describing her own attempt as ‘f***ing c**p’ – while former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton was quick to pile on, describing the whole shootout as a ‘monstrosity’.
‘Peter Gerhardsson [Sweden manager] asked if I could do it and then I said yes,’ Falk said.
‘I just thought I would take a few deep breaths and put it to the left, which I didn’t do.
The Lionesses dramatically beat Sweden 3-2 on penalties after a staggering NINE misses
Sweden went first, but got off to a nightmare start with Filippa Angeldal’s effort saved by Hannah Hampton
Lauren James then missed the chance to make it 2-0 before Sweden scored their second, with Jennifer Falk standing firm
‘It was f***ing c**p and then it was just about focusing on saving the next penalty.’
Another two misses followed before Bronze’s winning penalty, in a shoot-out which saw nine failed attempts.
Controversial former midfielder Barton soon piled on, describing the thrilling encounter as a ‘monstrosity’.
‘Is this a knockout game this monstrosity?’ the former Newcastle midfielder wrote on X.
Broadcaster Jeff Stelling was quick to reply, writing: ‘Bet you haven’t turned off though Joey?’
He also responded to a number of tweets throughout the match to defend the women’s game
Barton later responded: ‘I did Jeff. That’s how bad it was. You can’t tell me that’s proper football. It’s pure cosplay nonsense… And YOU know it!
Sarina Wiegman’s side earned their semi-final spot after a dramatic late comeback at Stadion Letzigrund.
Beth Mead – who had come off the bench to assist the equaliser – had England’s third saved
Magdalena Eriksson then made it four misses from six penalties when she hit the woodwork
England and Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved two of the seven Sweden penalties
Chloe Kelly assisted Bronze’s strike before scoring one of just five penalties in the shoot-out
Lucy Bronze netted a penalty having scored England’s first goal as they came from 2-0 down
They scored two goals in less than two minutes, courtesy of Bronze and Michelle Agyemang, to level the score with just nine minutes remaining.
England later triumphed 3-2 on penalties with goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saving two attempts as Sweden could only net two of their seven spot-kicks.
The Lionesses face Italy on Tuesday and are just two wins away from defending their crown.
The fixture was not the first time that former colleagues Barton and Stelling have clashed.
Stelling previously branded Barton’s views on the women’s game as ‘totally wrong’, claiming he makes headline-grabbing claims to increase attention towards his podcast.
Asked if he followed Barton’s unsavoury debates around women’s football, Stelling told the Guardian: ‘Oh, yes. You can’t avoid it, can you? I’ve worked with Joey a couple of times and I enjoyed his company then.
‘Initiallly, I’m sure this was to gain some traction for the podcast. Unfortunately it’s become a monster and totally wrong to say women have no right to talk about football.’
The 70-year-old also called out the ‘sexist environment’ at football while he was growing up, when his sister Sue took him to Hartlepool United matches.
Controversial former midfielder Joey Barton lashed out, describing the game as a ‘montrosity’
Broadcaster Jeff Stelling launched a defence of the Lionesses after Barton’s unsavoury tweet
‘She would honestly be the only woman in the ground,’ he said.
‘There were no toilet facilities for women and it was very foreboding and unwelcoming.’
Stelling added: ‘It was a totally sexist environment. To see a woman at football was a shock and they didn’t understand she was just my big sister doing me a massive favour in taking me to the game.
‘I’m so glad that’s changed because you now see so many women and families at football matches.’