Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
England's Lionesses defeated Sweden in a thrilling Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 and keep their title hopes alive.
(Reuters) -British media has hailed England's great escape in the quarter-finals of Women's Euro 2025 after the Lionesses battled from two goals down to beat Sweden in a surreal penalty shootout and keep their title defence alive.
The Zurich shootout featured 14 penalties before England prevailed 3-2 with Lionesses goalkeeper Hannah Hampton emerging as the unlikely hero having been thrust into the spotlight in her first major tournament.
"Beautiful craziness!" trumpeted the Daily Mail, while The Sun led with "Cats With Nine Lives" and The Times declared "Hannah Hampton the England hero in ridiculous penalty shoot-out".
"If this team was a cat, seven of nine lives would have been used up on this rollercoaster ride, but here they were: still standing, still fighting," Dominic King wrote in the Daily Mail.
The Times said it had looked like England were on their way out when they trailed 2-0 after 25 minutes before goals from Lucy Bronze and teenager Michelle Agyemang sent the game to extra time.
"Yes, England were abysmal for 70 minutes, but who cares?" Kit Shepard wrote.
"Once Sarina Wiegman finally made some substitutions in this epic quarter-final, they recovered from 2-0 down, held on heroically in extra time and prevailed in a ridiculous penalty shoot-out. The Lionesses' Euro 2025 hopes are, somehow, still alive."
England's valiant effort also drew praise in The Guardian.
"Even as an utterly shambolic England trail Sweden 2-0 and the obituaries for their Euro 2025 campaign are being scribbled, there is a little knot of refusal there, a team with an entirely unwarranted calmness at its core, a team that against all the available visual evidence still trusts that everything is going to work out eventually," Jonathan Liew wrote.
The Telegraph said Bronze's winning penalty would go down in English football folklore.
"It was a penalty hit with fury, a strike of pure mental and physical strength," Luke Edwards wrote.
"Bronze roared, a scream into the night air, a scream that said England will not surrender, they will not go down without a fight while she had oxygen left in her lungs."
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Goa; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
England won the match 3-2 after a dramatic penalty shootout.
Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton emerged as the hero, playing a crucial role in the shootout.
England trailed 2-0 but rallied with goals from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang, forcing the game into extra time.
British media praised England's resilience, with headlines like 'Beautiful craziness!' and 'Cats With Nine Lives' highlighting their dramatic comeback.
The Telegraph stated that Bronze's winning penalty would be remembered in English football folklore for its intensity and determination.
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