LEIGH, England – On a cold and wet Friday night in Leigh, Switzerland – the highest ranked team at Euro 2022 – 92 minutes and 33 shots scored in a completely frustrating evening for them against Belgium, 1-0 victory before the last gasp.
A few gave Belgium any chance to participate in this game. The world’s 19th-placed team unexpectedly exited Group D with Italy and Iceland both seen as more likely to progress. However, Belgium showed on Friday that they are slippery opponents who know how to stay fit and let their opponents down.
“We have secured our first goal, which is the quarter-finals,” Belgium coach Ives Serneels said before the match. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t have a fighting mentality now. We haven’t come this far to give it away.”
A fighting mentality has certainly been shown by Belgium, but Sweden’s inability to capitalize on their own chances left this team a real disappointment tonight. It will be a worry for coach Peter Gerhardsson when Sweden looking forward to a semi-final meeting with Englandwho will not only have two more days to prepare, but will also lead the team and individual leaderboards.
Everything went as normal for Sweden in the first half when Kosovare Asllani make a way through Stina Blacksteniuswho beat the goalkeeper Nicky Evrard. However, a VAR review suggested that Blackstenius was offside and the goal disallowed. Things started going downhill for Sweden from there as they lacked precision in front of goal.
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At half-time, Sweden had 15 shots on target to Belgium’s one and a projected goal-scoring performance of 1.62 versus Belgium’s 0.03. Sweden had 20 touches while attacking the Belgian box while the second team had only three. Sweden’s 20 touchdowns and 1.62 xG were the most of any side at the time in the entire tournament – but poor touches and confusion in front of goal kept them from taking a shot. hit Evrard a single shot.
By the end of the game, Sweden was 33 shots on target and 10 shots on target. Evrard has made seven saves (in context, the most saves in any Euro game is 12) and her side only had three shots on target that didn’t hit the target.
It is fitting, however, that when the Swedish breakthrough came, it was a fixed situation. Asllani made a cross into the box two minutes later, which was punched away by Evrard. Her save only landed so much so that Nathalie Bjorn, who had a shot was saved but landed at the feet of Linda Sembrantwho smashed it to the top of the net.
It was a mess but Sweden won’t care for now. The goal marked their fifth goal from a fixture in this tournament, more than any other.
Perhaps more should be said about Belgium’s defensive qualities ahead of the game. They won 1-0 before Italy and was only beaten 2-1 by the favorite group France. Iceland also only scored one goal against them. They entered the knockout round as the team with the fewest shots on target and vice versa only Finland (84) face more shots against them (70). Given those numbers and as shown in the expected number of goals, according to ESPN stats & information, Belgium should have conceded at least 8 goals but instead they conceded just 3 goals before Friday night. .
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A word here must be given to Belgian goalkeeper Evrard, who, despite being on the losing side, won the Man of the Match award for her heroes. This feat seems all the more impressive when you consider the fact that Evrard is a semi-professional footballer who also rents palatial mansions in his spare time. She has just joined Leuven from Gent, football is her passion but the rental business gives her financial stability. It’s a crazy concept for a goalkeeper who just showed off the performance she did in the quarterfinals of a major tournament.
“I think Belgium had a bigger name than them before the tournament,” Evrard said after the game.
Although there may be celebrations for Sweden tonight, a big test faces them against England. Sweden’s league has been ravaged by COVID-19 cases and rapid change may prove more difficult for them. Captain Magdalena Eriksson admitted she felt like crying after the final whistle blew.
“It feels unbelievable. That was our goal for the day. It wasn’t easy. Belgium made it really difficult,” said Eriksson. “I’m happy we got the win. I’m happy for Linda and we finally got the goal.
“It’s really tough. We have to stay mentally strong. We have to stay optimistic. We did it. We’ll go to the 94th minute and keep pushing. We’re going. passed and I’m really excited to play in the semi-finals.
“So many emotions. I felt tears welling up in my eyes because I was so happy. It was a frustrating evening. To finally have some relief, my goodness. I’m so proud of all of you. girls because of how hard we fought.”
There will also be some concerns about the fitness of Blackstenius, who was hospitalized after the final whistle and was injured throughout the tournament. As one of their best attacking options and a familiar with the Women’s Super League, where many British players are stationed, her fitness will be key along with better performances from players like Fridolina Rolfo. He has a solid defense against the pieces in Millie Bright and it looks like they won’t be able to depend on them in the same way.
One would think England coach Sarina Wiegman would be delighted to rub her hands together later tonight – but it’s never right to count a team like Sweden out. A match winner after 92 minutes of the slogan to advance to the semi-finals of Euro 2022 is the latest example of that.
