Fran Kirby is hoping that England can break their losing streak when they play Sweden in the semifinals. The time has come. There are two games this week in the semifinals of the Women's Euros, one of which is between England and Sweden. - Euro 2022: Daily guide to coverage, fixtures, more
- Every Euros game LIVE on ESPN: Navigate the schedule
- Laurens: Rejoice! We have the perfect Euros semifinalists
Who will make it to the final at Wembley? Which players will make the difference? Who are the people we are going through? Prepare for Tuesday's and Wednesday's semifinals by reading this.
You can jump to: England, Sweden, Germany, and France.
England vs. Sweden: Tuesday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2England won all three of their games without giving up a goal. They started out with a tough task against Austria, where Beth Mead's goal gave them the lead, but they went on to win all three of their games. They faced a well-organised Spain side in the quarterfinals and needed an 84th-minute goal from Toone to force overtime. Georgia Stanway's effort from long range was enough to give them a victory.
Sweden secured their spot at the top of Group C after opening with a draw with the Netherlands and then winning their next two games. Despite the issues within the camp, they were able to get past Belgium and make the semifinals. Sweden dominated the game and had 33 shots to Belgium's three, but a remarkable performance from goalkeeper Nicky Evrard kept Sweden at bay until they finally got the breakthrough in the 92nd minute.
The win over Spain showed that England could work their way through a tricky spell. It was the biggest test of Sarina's tenure so far, but England did a good job of breaking Spain down.
The team's success at the Euros can be traced back to the strength in depth of their players. They have a core of superb players who work well as a group and can shore up the middle of the pitch to allow the likes of Lauren Hemp to thrive.
Consistency has been a strength for England. It took them a little while to get going against Spain, despite the fact that the same XI has been named in all four matches. Other teams will be trying to figure out what makes England tick and how to slow them down. If you get in behind England, you can hurt them, and they have to be better at shutting those opportunities down.
Sweden will win because they are the No. 2-ranked side in the world and they can do anything. Their run to the gold medal included a win over the USWNT. Although they lost the final on penalties to Canada, they showed their champion's ability to reach the last stages of major tournaments.
Their attackers Stina Blackstenius, Fridolina Rolfo and Johanna Kaneryd took time to get going against Belgium, which is a testament to the attacking mindset that manager Peter has. The emotional significance of this tournament is heightened by the fact that four players are in the twilight of their careers.
Sweden's toughest test at the Euros will be this one. The factor of playing England on their own turf is also present. The hype and excitement surrounding the hosts will only grow, and as England have proved so far this tournament, they're using that pressure to go up another gear rather than stall out.
Last time out I went for Stanway, who had a brilliant game, but this match will be a test of how they can respond to Sweden's threat down the left in Rolfo. The disruption will be caused by Lucy Bronze and it will be on Walsh to shut that down.
She is a world-class defender and has had a good tournament, but she was frustrated against Spain. She was boxed in and had to concede possession in the end. Bronze stayed away from the party, instead talking to her future teammates and taking in the moment. The job is not done.
She wasn't impressed with Sweden even though they advanced to the semifinals.
Sweden needs to be defensively sound if they want to knock England out of the competition. They've conceded just two times in the tournament, and kept Belgium to speculative efforts, which has been working, but they'll be key to this semifinal. She'll need all of her experience to help get her team set up and stop the most lethal team in the tournament.
England will come out on top with a 2-1 victory. Expect a tense first half and the game to open up in the second 45 with England's starting team doing the hard work and the bench closing the game out. In front of a sold out crowd, England will book their spot in the final and cause bedlam up and down the country.
Germany vs. France: Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2It wasn't easy for Germany or France to reach the last four after dominating their groups. Germany looked short on ideas against Austria after controlling their three group games. An early overload in the Austrian box led to the first goal of the night, a perfect finish after they'd carved apart the Austrian defence.
Even with the advantage, Germany couldn't relax into the game and weren't able to close out the game until the last minute.
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France needed extra time to beat the Netherlands in the last of the quarterfinals. Despite dominating almost every metric, France could not find a way to beat the Dutch goal-keeper, with a string of strong saves from the young goal-keeper and France's less-than-clinical finishing enough to push the game to extra time. The French finally got their goal thanks to Eve Périsset's first half penalty kick.
The team to beat in the group stage, Germany, were given quite the scare against Austria, and had it not been for a bit of luck, they might have gone home early. They should use the scares as a wake-up call going into the semifinals. Even if they don't see as much of the ball as the French, Germany will still be able to take advantage of it.
The composed side from the group stage was replaced by a squad that was struggling to deal with the pressure in the quarterfinals. The narrow escape against Austria highlighted the frailties the former champion have had in knockout rounds in the past.
With all the noise coming into the tournament, France have been able to block out any drama and instead come together as a team, playing some of their best football as one cohesive group. In previous years, when they've come up against a stubborn goalkeeper in the quarters, they may have folded, but against the Netherlands, the French stuck to their task even after taking the lead. They were mentally tough for navigating knockout football.
France had 33 shots but only one goal. France will need better finishing to beat the German No. 1 if they want to beat the Germans in the semifinals. France's last major tournament semifinal appearance came a decade ago at the London Olympics and there are questions about how the team will handle the added pressure of a last-four appearance.
For Germany, who've looked so good going forward, it would be easy to say one of their attackers will be the one to shine, with Popp having scored in each of her four Euros outings.
One of the strengths of Germany's attack is their ability to feed the ball through to their teammates, and with that in mind, Magull is poised to be the key player for Germany again, as her ability to feed the ball through to her teammates is one of the key strengths of She will be asked to help her teammates stop the ball from being allowed to get anywhere near the goal and will happily drop back to help the cause before springing a counter or running into the box to bolster.
Kadidiatou Diani, one of France's best players this tournament, had shown her individual brilliance in a team that relies on a collective effort. Not just an attacker with a swift turn of pace, but one with a first touch and delicate footwork to get around her marker, the Paris Saint-Germain winger has a tangible impact on France's xG once she's got the ball on her toe.
Diani's work to set up her teammates has been helpful. If France make it to the final, you can expect Diani to be involved.
After a great first half against Italy, France cooled down and needed extra time to get through to the next round. This trajectory is not a good one for anyone in the area. Germany's experience is expected to be the deciding factor in a 3-1 win, although the team will need to dig back into their confidence after their group games. Germany looks stronger and more clinical on the surface.
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