England suffered on Spain's famous passing carousel before clearing their heads to reach the Euro 2022.
No one could argue that England were more pleasing on the eye or demonstrated more composure on the ball than Spain, but they came out on top in the only currency that matters with a 2-1 win that means they now face Sweden or Belgium.
England's victory had suffered, jeopardy, character, guts, a comeback, and then a spectacular extra-winner from Georgia Stanway that was celebrated wildly inside the stadium.
England's campaign was saved by the changes made by Wiegman, while Vilda's moves swung the game in Spain's favor.
This is an England win of huge significance because of all the sub-plots.
England's flawless group stage installed them as many people's favorites, but for so long it looked like they were on the way out.
Spain's mastery of the ball was the reason why England was dominated by them.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said that Barcelona's "carousel" drained confidence to the point of despair.
It looked like another big tournament disappointment was heading England's way when Esther Gonzalez's 54th minute opener was Spain's deserved reward.
As Spain pushed and probed for openings, the flawless Millie Bright brought all her experience to bear.
She showed why she has a stellar reputation.
While she revealed there was a plan B to run the show from home, her presence in person was more influential.
With little more than an hour gone and Spain in complete control, she took off England's leading scorer Ellen White, the top scorer in Euro 2022, and the other two players.
Vilda's minus touch was puncturing Spain's attacking impetus by removing Gonzalez, who was the leading scorer in the game.
The atmosphere was not affected by England's performance. The mood had been building before the game and was carried into the stadium.
A wave of pre-game optimism swept over England fans as they basked in the sun on the seafront and flooded the fanzone in Victoria Gardens.
As England's players came out to warm up, the stadium announced that they would have a party.
The gate-crashers were Spain. The dream of the festivities carrying on towards a possible final at Wembley lives on despite the hosts leaving it late.
When two of her changes combined to draw England level with six minutes left as Manchester United team-mates and best friends combined, they were put in relief.
The show will go on to Yorkshire next Tuesday, thanks to Stanway's blockbuster.
After Stanway's brilliant strike, the traditional cry of " football's coming home" swept around the stadium, and after four minutes of nail-biting tension, the crowd joined England's players in chorus of SweetCaroline.
With 14 unanswered goals in the three games against Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland, this was the sternest of tests against the pre-tournament favorites.
The injury to Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas was a cruel blow to Spain. They were criticized for being superb on the ball but lacking end product. England faced a formidable barrier from Spain.
While being second best for so long, while looking tired and beaten at one stage, will provide huge reserves of confidence and self-belief for what they hope will be two more dates with destiny in this tournament.
The crowd at BRIGHTON LOVED IT.
As the pressure mounted and England found fresh strength with their Euro 2022 ambitions on the line, the volume turned up and the crowd supported the home side.
As she celebrated at the end of the game, her calm demeanor slipped as she and her players knew what this win meant.
It has been said that England needs a true test to measure their credentials. They passed, this was it.
It wasn't a performance that will get a lot of attention. All those who witnessed it will not be able to relive it again, as England may need it again to claim the crown.
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