England are facing a dangerous Sweden side in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals, in what is the holders’ toughest test of the tournament yet.
The Lionesses played Sweden at the semi-final stage of their home Euros three years ago, winning 4-0 at Bramall Lane on a memorable night that included Alessia Russo’s backheel goal as the hosts went on to lift the trophy at Wembley.
Sweden are out for revenge as the teams meet again in Zurich. Sweden impressively topped Group C, beating Germany 4-1 last time out, and have an excellent record of reaching the latter stages of major tournaments in recent years.
England, though, are looking to continue the momentum that has been building since their opening defeat to France. Sarina Wiegman’s side have found form and defeated Netherlands 4-0 and Wales 6-1 to advance to the quarter-finals.
Can England now take the opportunity of landing on the more favourable side of the draw? The winner will play Italy in the semi-finals in Geneva, after Cristiana Girelli’s dramatic winner against Norway sent the Italians through to their first semi-final since 1997.
Follow England’s Euro 2025 quarter-final showdown with Sweden below.
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England v Sweden LIVE: Women's Euro 2025 latest updates
- England face Sweden in Women's Euro 2025 quarter-final | Live on BBC One
- '81 GOAL! Kelly notches another assist as Agyemang slots home equaliser [ENG 2-2 SWE]
- '79 GOAL! Lucy Bronze latches onto Chloe Kelly cross to halve deficit [ENG 1-2 SWE]
- 25' GOAL! Stina Blackstenius doubles Sweden's lead against sloppy England [ENG 0-2 SWE]
- 5' OFF THE BAR! England almost respond as Hemp's shot tipped over [ENG 0-1 SWE}
- '2 GOAL! Asllani puts Sweden ahead in nightmare start for England [ENG 0-1 SWE]
- Dark horses Italy await in semi-final after stunning Norway last night
England 2-2 Sweden
22:12
,
Flo Clifford
105 mins: Walsh is replaced by Clinton.
Hurtig wins a header and England are playing with fire, with plenty of Sweden shirts in the box, but it’s eventually cleared!
James is on the deck having caught her angle in between Hurtig’s feet, the Sweden player winning the ball.
Two minutes added on to this half of extra time, much of these two minutes being taken up with James receiving some attention.
England 2-2 Sweden
22:09
,
Flo Clifford
103 mins: Williamson is back on her feet and tries to jog it off. Play resumes.
England 2-2 Sweden
22:08
,
Flo Clifford
102 mins: Chaos in the Sweden box again as a corner delivery pinballs around, eventually making its way out. Greenwood thumps in a good ball but Bjorn does well to make the clearance, colliding with Williamson, and the England captain is down having rolled her angle. Kelly signals for some assistance.
Sweden have a team talk while Williamson is seen to.
England 2-2 Sweden
22:05
,
Flo Clifford
99 mins: Dicey moments as England concede a corner and then a free-kick. Bjorn heads Angeldahl’s delivery a smidgeon wide of the post.
Blackstenius crosses in, hoping to find Janogy, but Williamson gets a defensive header to it. Brighter from Sweden now.
SAVE! England 2-2 Sweden
22:02
,
Flo Clifford
97 mins: Kelly crosses in from the left but it doesn’t quite fall for Russo, instead picked up by James, who is now given a wide berth by the Sweden shirts. The move ultimately comes to nothing.
Angeldahl floats in a strike and Hampton leaps up to save, looked like it was going wide anyway, but good keeping. Agyemang gets a nick on Angeldahl and needs to be careful; she’s on a yellow.
England 2-2 Sweden
22:00
,
Flo Clifford
94 mins: A slightly cagey start to this extra half hour.
Bronze makes the crucial interception on Janogy down the left as Sweden build an attack.
England win a free-kick as Sweden are penalised for handball, deep in England’s half.
EXTRA-TIME: England 2-2 Sweden
21:56
,
Flo Clifford
90 mins: Here we go. Thirty minutes (and possibly penalties) to decide this quarter-final.
Who is Michelle Agyemang? England striker who just equalised against Sweden in Euros quarter-final
21:52
,
Flo Clifford
Your reading ahead of extra time....
Michelle Agyemang knows how to make an impression. Leah Williamson still remembers the first time she saw the 19-year-old join in with the senior team at Arsenal, and perhaps even has the bruise to prove it. “She come and flattened me,” Williamson says. “I was too slow on it and I think I gave her a bit of stick about it, but in my head I thought: ‘You need to move the ball quicker, because she’s got something about her’.”
England’s captain was left similarly impressed as she discusses Agyemeng’s impact at another training session a few years later, this time at St George’s Park before the Lionesses head to Euro 2025.
“I was screaming for a pass and she put it top bins, and I thought: ‘I ain’t going to say nothing’,” Williamson says. “So my first impression was she let me know she was there, which I love. As a young player coming through, you can do all the fancy flicks and tricks you want, but somebody needs to know about you, and you need to tell people that you’re there, and that’s what she does.”
EXTRA TIME: England 2-2 Sweden
21:51
,
Flo Clifford
90+3 mins: Kelly’s corner delivery hits the crossbar!
And England have been given another corner, for some reason. It didn’t look like Falk touched it at all.
Sweden clear it, Walsh is forced away from goal, and that’s the final kick of normal time.
England 2-2 Sweden
21:50
,
Flo Clifford
90+3 mins: Sweden have a free-kick. Angeldahl plays it cleverly, Blackstenius the intended recipient down the left, but Hampton reads it and collects.
Janogy comes again, James tracks back to intercept and floats it forward to Agyemang, who squares it into Russo... her attempt takes a tiny touch off Holmberg to drift out.
England 2-2 Sweden
21:48
,
Flo Clifford
90 mins: Kelly floats in another good ball but Sweden head it clear, and now she sees yellow for a crunching challenge on Angeldahl.
THREE minutes added on. Will we see a winner?
SAVE! England 2-2 Sweden
21:46
,
Flo Clifford
89 mins: Sweden nearly capitalise on a defensive lapse but Janogy’s shot is palmed away by Hampton, a great save.
Sweden have a corner... England clear.
Zigiotti Olme goes into the book for catching Mead late.
England 2-2 Sweden
21:44
,
Flo Clifford
87 mins: Asllani looks absolutely distraught on the bench, gazing wide-eyed at the carnage. She came off and it all fell apart for Sweden.
Mead chests down a great ball in and tries to tee up Agyemang, but the interception is made. Agyemang gets a yellow for a late boot on Eriksson.
England 2-2 Sweden
21:42
,
Flo Clifford
85 mins: Three substitutes combined for that second goal: Kelly’s brilliant ball in, Mead knocked it down, Agyemang heads in.
Russo now tries to play in Mead but Falk is equal to it.
Eriksson concedes a foul as she shoves Russo over at the byline. The noise in the stadium is electric. Greenwood stands over the free-kick... the delivery is deep but easily claimed by Falk.
GOAL! England 2-2 Sweden
21:39
,
Flo Clifford
81 mins: What. is. going. on.
The hordes of England fans are bouncing.
It’s Kelly, again; two assists in three minutes and England are level. Kelly chops back past her defender, crosses in, the ball bounces around and falls to Agyemang, and she heads it home!
GOAL! England 1-2 Sweden
21:37
,
Flo Clifford
79 mins: England have been pressing but this has come out of absolutely nowhere! Kelly curls in a cross from the left and Bronze, at a very tight angle, heads in past Falk at the back post!
England 0-2 Sweden
21:35
,
Flo Clifford
78 mins: More substitutions by Sweden. Hurtig and Janogy are on, Asllani and Rolfo off.
Another for England too: Hemp is replaced by Kelly.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:34
,
Flo Clifford
77 mins: Promising down the left by England. James crosses in to Agyemang but her touch is heavy and she stands rooted to the spot as it drifts out.
England recycle it but Williamson’s ball is claimed by Falk.
Good again from James, Agyemang gets her head to the next ball in but collides with Zigiotti Olme and the referee stops play so they can both be checked out.
Chloe Kelly, who has a picture of her and her husband on her shinpads, is getting ready to come on.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:31
,
Flo Clifford
74 mins: James is looking frustrated. England try to work the ball to her again but she’s so tightly marked there’s nothing she can do. Zigiotti Olme shoves James in the back and concedes the free-kick as James hits the deck.
Greemwood’s delivery is intowards Agyemang, who knocks it on for Hemp... whose header is easily collected by Falk.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:27
,
Flo Clifford
70 mins: Swedish alarm bells are ringing as James sprints down the left, one-on-one with the 18-year-old full-back Holmberg, who gets her foot into it, another defender tracks back, and James commits the form.
England make changes! Stanway is replaced by Agyemang, Carter by Morgan, and Toone by Mead.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:25
,
Flo Clifford
69 mins: England are really pressing now but yet to find that moment of quality. James tries something but always has three Sweden players on her at all times. Bronze curls it in but Falk jumps onto it.
There is movement on the England bench.
CLOSE! England 0-2 Sweden
21:23
,
Flo Clifford
66 mins: Hemp threads a lovely ball into Toone but as she squares it into the box Angeldahl makes the crucial interception, and Sweden counter immediately: Blackstenius sprints away with it and once again gets the better of Carter, Sweden opting to cool off the pace and build slowly but England track back.
Rytting Kaneryd blasts over the bar.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:21
,
Flo Clifford
64 mins: Another Sweden move. Walsh tracks back to make the save, gets in a muddle with Bronze, and Sweden are appealing for a handball against Bronze as the defender, with her arm down, gets in the way of Walsh’s clearance. The referee decides nothing doing.
More building from England but Sweden are tight to their every move.
Bronze heads in a cross towards Hemp, onrushing in the box and although Falk initially drops it, she collects without too much trouble.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:18
,
Flo Clifford
61 mins: There’s a vague whisper of a suggestion of handball there against Bjorn... nothing given, no foul either.
Hemp gets the better of her marker at the backline but just takes a touch too many and it goes out.
First change of the match: Lundkvist is replaced by 18-year-old Holmberg.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:17
,
Flo Clifford
60 mins: James catches Asllani in the face but the Sweden captain is fine to continue; this will slow things down nicely for them.
Greenwood and Russo exchange passes and Greenwood floats the ball into the box, but it clatters the side netting.
James gets a shot off but a Sweden defender blocks it and it goes behind for a corner. It’s cleared, Walsh recycles, and after a fair bit of back and forth it is eventually cleared properly... but Williamson is on the deck, claiming an elbow to the head.
SAVE! England 0-2 Sweden
21:13
,
Flo Clifford
56 mins: A dangerous moment for England. Asllani wriggles free of the England defence and sends the ball down the centre into space. Carter is once again caught napping as Blackstenius powers past her to make contact, but Hampton makes the point-black save to deny her a second.
England 0-2 Sweden
21:11
,
Flo Clifford
54 mins: Bronze gets a little too enthusiastic with a challenge on Blackstenius.
Walsh, who was crowded out in the first half, plays a lovely ball forward but James sends it out of play.
This has been a better display from England so far, more intensity. Sweden are doing their best to slow things down and frustrate the defending champions.
SAVE! England 0-2 Sweden
21:08
,
Flo Clifford
51 mins: Much better from England; Russo powers down the left and lays it off for Toone, but her shot is well blocked by Falk. The flag goes up for offside anyway, Eriksson holding her line well.
Now James turns it over, Russo plays it down the line for the striker to make the overlapping pass. James crosses it but Hemp blasts her header over the bar and wide from a very tight angle!
England 0-2 Sweden
21:06
,
Flo Clifford
48 mins: Sarina Wiegman has opted to stick with her first XI, no changes for either side.
The volume goes up a notch as England build an attack through the centre. It comes out to Hemp on the left, under pressure from Lundkvist, but Angeldahl makes the interception.
SECOND HALF: England 0-2 Sweden
21:02
,
Flo Clifford
45 mins: The defending champions have it all to do in this half. They’re out on the pitch before Sweden and raring to go.
Here we go.
HALF-TIME: England 0-2 Sweden
20:48
,
Flo Clifford
45+1 mins: The resulting Sweden corner looks dangerous but it eventually drifts out of play.
Half-time and England have a mountain to climb. Asllani and Blackstenius have made the difference but Sweden have just looked the brighter, sharper side all over the pitch.
No team has gone 2-0 down in a knockout game at the Women’s Euros and come back to win the game, Gabby Logan says on BBC comms.
SAVE! England 0-2 Sweden
20:47
,
Flo Clifford
45+1 mins: One minute added on. Rolfo drives down the middle and floats past Williamson, jinks the ball past Bronze but Hampton leaps to it and tips it away! Phenomenal save.
England 0-2 Sweden
20:45
,
Flo Clifford
45 mins: England enjoy a spell of possession but Sweden are just riding it out. Hemp is dispossessed and Angeldahl builds another Sweden attack... eventually the ball finds its way to Russo, who is brought down and the foul is given.
Hemp puts in a good challenge on Angeldahl but there’s no-one to get on the end of her cross into the box.
Blackstenius doubles Sweden's lead
20:41
,
Flo Clifford
England 0-2 Sweden
20:40
,
Flo Clifford
39 mins: Hemp curls in a deep cross but James can’t control it and it’s immediately turned over. Alarm bells ring as the ball lands forward for Blackstenius but the much-hassled Carter gets the better of her this time.
Hemp draws the foul - and a free kick in a good spot - from Lundkvist with some tidy footwork, but also goes down as the Swede elbows her in the face. There’s a break in play as the medical staff attend to her.
Greenwood’s delivery is worked in and around the box for a bit; Hemp pulls it back beautifully for Toone but there’s no one anticipating it.
England 0-2 Sweden
20:35
,
Flo Clifford
34 mins: England have another chance but Hemp’s attempt pops up straight in front of Falk, who collects gratefully.
The Lionesses come again but Sweden turn it over with ease. Rolfo sprints goalward in search of a long ball but Hampton recognises the danger and boots clear.
England 0-2 Sweden
20:33
,
Flo Clifford
33 mins: Walsh takes a heavy touch but gets a reprieve as Asllani’s ball forward is sloppy and the attack fizzles out.
England are looking scrappy. Hemp wins a corner. Carter recycles but the ball in is poor and lands nowhere near an England shirt.
England 0-2 Sweden
20:29
,
Flo Clifford
28 mins: England try to counter but Toone drives her shot straight at Eriksson.
GOAL! England 0-2 Sweden
20:26
,
Flo Clifford
25 mins: Oh dear. Too, too easy for Sweden. Blackstenius runs onto a loose ball and sprints forward, barely troubled by Carter as she outpaces the defender, and tucks the finish through Hampton’s feet into the bottom left corner.
A real uphill battle for England now.
Sweden take early lead in quarter-final
20:25
,
Flo Clifford
England 0-1 Sweden
20:24
,
Flo Clifford
23 mins: Andersson concedes a corner, England’s first. James plays it short to Hemp, and Asllani defends doggedly. It goes out for an England throw-in but again Sweden turn the ball over, and the pressure is just relentless.
England counter, but they’re just looking uncertain compared to Sweden. Hemp curls the ball in to the back post but it’s just got a bit too much height on it.
Bronze comes off worse in a challenge by Zigiotti Olme, but despite her winning the ball referee Marta Huerta de Aza awards Sweden the free-kick.
England 0-1 Sweden
20:19
,
Flo Clifford
18 mins: Hemp finds Greenwood but Lundkvist immediately slams the door shut on that move.
Rytting Kaneryd is electric down the right, Carter intercepts and sends the ball towards the backline but the Swede immediately beats her to it again. Rolfo can’t make contact with her cross and that’s the end of another breathless Sweden attack. Non-stop from Peter Gerhardsson’s side.
England 0-1 Sweden
20:16
,
Flo Clifford
15 mins: Hemp goes crunching in on Lundkvist and Sweden protest loudly. The referee, belatedly, makes the call in Sweden’s favour.
James is surrounded by Sweden shirts but still manages to play a neat backheel out into space; England build and Falk absolutely clatters into Hemp before she can get the ball. Play continues.
England 0-1 Sweden
20:13
,
Flo Clifford
12 mins: Stanway does well to keep the ball under serious pressure, dancing around a couple of Sweden shirts. But each time the ball eventually comes back to Sweden... Bronze makes an interception and tries to counter, but Sweden turn it over before James can get there.
Greenwood tries to pick out Hemp with a long ball forward; Stanway unnecessarily fouls Bjorn and that sums up England’s start. The Lionesses are just looking a bit frazzled here.
OFF THE CROSSBAR! England 0-1 Sweden
20:09
,
Flo Clifford
8 mins: Stanway builds a first attack for England down the left. It’s worked forward to Hemp, who side-foots a lovely strike but Falk tips it onto the bar!
James recycles it as England continue to press again, it’s headed away, and eventually Lundkvist clears - and Sweden counter. Blackstenius works her way into space but plays a poor ball across the face of goal with no-one there to receive it.
England 0-1 Sweden
20:06
,
Flo Clifford
5 mins: Carter plays a backpass to Hampton and the keeper is caught by surprise; Blackstenius robs her with ease, Hampton tripping over her feet, and Sweden nearly have an early double but Williamson slides in to make the crucial block. This has been a really dreadful start by the defending champions.
England clear the resulting corner.
GOAL! England 0-1 Sweden
20:03
,
Flo Clifford
2 mins: Sweden make their intentions known early, pressing high. Asllani puts a little too much on a pass to Rytting Kaneryd.
Walsh makes a sloppy pass and Sweden immediately punish them. Blackstenius plays it forward to Asllani, and the captain slots it into the bottom corner past Hampton! Sweden with the dream start!
KICK-OFF: England vs Sweden
20:00
,
Flo Clifford
The players take the knee, led by England, and the quarter-final is underway!
England v Sweden
19:59
,
Flo Clifford
The anthems are sung; the atmosphere in here is bouncing. How are the nerves?
Reminder of team news and how to watch England v Sweden
19:58
,
Jamie Braidwood
England XI: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Walsh, Stanway, Toone; James, Russo, Hemp
Sweden XI: Falk; Lundkvist, Björn, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldahl, Zigiotti Olme; Rytting Kaneryd, Asllani, Rolfö; Blackstenius
How can I watch it?
It’s live on BBC One and iPlayer.
Sarina Wiegman: 'I don't expect anyone to have an easy night tonight'
19:54
,
Jamie Braidwood
Sarina Wiegman speaks to BBC One ahead of tonight’s quarter-final and her decision to name an unchanged team against Sweden:
"We gave two good performances [against Netherlands and Wales] so I didn't have any reason to change,” Wiegman says.
"We look at it all the time, what's the strength of the opponent and what do we need to do. I think we had that in the other matches too. So we take that into consideration and then put out the best eleven for that.
"I think everyone's going to be really busy on the pitch tonight. It's going to be a very competitive game. I expect a very high level game so I don't expect anyone to have an easy night tonight."
Sweden hoping to handle 'special' Lauren James
19:51
,
Jamie Braidwood
In Sweden, much has been made before this quarter-final about how they will go about stopping England’s Lauren James.
“I'm happy that I haven't got to handle her,” joked Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson.
“I like that kind of player because she has something special, movement and things like that. But she's doing the things she thinks right on the pitch. As a coach, sometimes you want structure. I think James, even if she listens to the coach, she makes her own decisions on the pitch. And every coach likes that kind of players. But I hope we can handle it.”
England back on familiar ground in Zurich
19:48
,
Jamie Braidwood
Zurich is where England have been staying for the past three weeks, and this is their third match of Euro 2025 at the Stadion Letzigrund.
There have been mixed results so far: this is where England were beaten by France in their opening match, but it’s also where they bounced back against the Netherlands.
Sweden also played here when they thrashed Germany 4-1 in the group stages.
Dangerous Sweden
19:43
,
Jamie Braidwood
Sweden have also gone a year unbeaten - a spell that involves 15 matches and has brought 11 wins. Their last defeat was against France in Euro 2025 qualifying last summer.
England's Ella Toone to remain on form in Euro 2025 quarter-final?
19:36
,
Jamie Braidwood
Ella Toone has transformed the England midfield since returning to the team after the opening defeat to France. The 25-year-old is enjoying an excellent tournament and has two goals and two assists, despite just starting two of the three games.
Toone has also complemented Lauren James on England’s right and Lucy Bronze said their combinations have been key for the Lionesses since the France defeat.
“It’s easy when you‘ve got two players like that playing in front of you,” Bronze said. “I find it easy to play with players of that quality. It’s fantastic that they're on my team and not the other team. They have both really grown into the tournament and they are both key players for England.”
A busy night for the left side of England's defence?
19:25
,
Jamie Braidwood
Sweden have played more crosses into the box that any team at Euro 2025, with 65 per cent of their chances created from open play coming down their right-hand side.
Sweden’s recorded 61 crosses during the group stage with Chelsea’s Johanna Rytting Kaneryd completing twice as many overall, with eight, than the next highest player.
“That's what they want to do of course,” Sarina Wiegman said before this game. “We know they have some qualities, they're good in the air and they want to get the crosses, they have some speed up front too.”
Sweden's form against England - apart from that Euro 2022 semi-final
19:13
,
Jamie Braidwood
England facing Sweden at the Euros will inevitably bring up memories of Alessia Russo’s back-heel and the Lionesses’ 4-0 win in the Euro 2022 semi-finals three years ago. But that is actually England’s only win against Sweden in their last six outings (D3, L2).
England have won their last five quarter-finals at major tournaments, dating back to the 2015 World Cup. It’s the longest run out of any European nation, while Sweden have won their last three quarter-finals since losing to Sarina Wiegman’s Netherlands at Euro 2017.
Now everything changes at Euro 2025 – but will we see a different England?
19:03
,
Miguel Delaney
“This is where the fun begins.”
Knockout football brings a different edge to a tournament, which Sarina Wiegman knows better than anyone at Euro 2025: the Dutch coach has not lost a knockout match before the final at her last four major tournaments.
That's maybe what "proper England", to use the term everyone around the squad is saying, also represents. It is really a description of tournament football. A team’s resolve amplifies all that, and England showed in 2023 they have plenty of that.
Sweden make two changes
18:51
,
Jamie Braidwood
Sweden make two changes from the 4-1 win over Germany. Hanna Lundkvist replaces Smilla Holmberg at right back and Julia Zigiotti Olme comes into the midfield in place of Hanna Bennison. Fridolina Rolfo is fit enough to start her second game in a row after recovering from injury.
Sweden XI: Falk; Lundkvist, Björn, Eriksson, Andersson; Angeldahl, Zigiotti Olme; Rytting Kaneryd, Asllani, Rolfö; Blackstenius
England v Sweden team news and line-ups
18:46
,
Jamie Braidwood
For the third game in a row, England are unchanged!
England XI; Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Walsh, Stanway, Toone; James, Russo, Hemp
Here’s how the #Lionesses line-up tonight! pic.twitter.com/QK3XSb5Wb4
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 17, 2025
England v Sweden team news and line-ups
18:41
,
Jamie Braidwood
We’re a few minutes away from tonight’s team news. Will Sarina Wiegman spring a surprise and name any changes to her team? Or will the Lionesses, who looked to have found the winning formula following the France defeat, name the same team for a third game in a row...
‘Fear England?’ No, this Sweden team believes Women’s Euros 2025 is their year
18:31
,
Jamie Braidwood
“We're flying under the radar and it suits us,” Sweden’s captain Kosovare Asllani said before facing England in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals.
Sweden have consistently reached Olympic finals, World Cup semi-finals and Euros semi-finals over the last decade but for some reason are never mentioned among the pre-tournament favourites.
Is that because they have been consistently unable to take the final step? Perhaps. But there is a growing belief in the Sweden camp that this could be their year, and that “something feels different”.
