Under 21 focus England 3 sweden 3

England’s under 21’s have made it into the Final of the European Championship as they experienced penalty joy against Sweden, who had battled back from 3-0 down.

England were given the perfect start after just 53 seconds by Cranie. When Milner’s corner from the right dropped to him at the back post, he composed himself 15 yards out before keeping the ball low with his left foot and sending it beneath the jump of Agbonlahor and into the net.But Sweden weren’t rattled and they began searching for a chance to pull level.Marcus Berg was given a chance to add to his five goal tally for this tournament so far after  18 minutes had passed. Rasmus Elm delivered the ball from the right where Berg was waiting, but as he rose under pressure from Cranie it was headed straight over the bar.Sweden were soon two down despite the effort they were putting into the game, as the Three Lions won a corner on the left, Milner sent the ball into the six yard box. Onuoha managed to control the ball before he tucked it away into the corner.England were really making the most of their opportunities and went 3 up after an own goal on 38 minutes and it was from another corner. After Milner’s ball in from the left was punched clear by Johan Dahlin, Walcott was nearby to send it back in just before Lee Cattermole’s flick was diverted past the keeper by Mattias Bjarsmyr.Just before the break, Cattermole took a shot at goal following some quick passing on the edge of the box, but the ball just went over the top. Sweden made two substitutions at the break, as Blackburn Rover’s winger Martin Olsson and Andreas Landgren came off and were replaced by Guillermo Molins and Labinot Harbuzi, this proved to be a good move.Walcott had a run at the Swedish defence which took him into the box, but with Cattermole free in support, he was unable to get the ball out as he was being closed down, and Sweden cleared the ball away.Gabby Agbonlahor’s time was up with almost 60 minutes played as Fraizer Campbell came on. The Villa striker’s booking in the 23^rd minute along with the yellow card he received against Finland, means he's suspended for the next game.Finally the home fans were given a reason to get excited in the 68th minute as they started to respond. Molins was played into a good area down the right hand side and crossed along the ground to Berg, he shot with his right and found the back of the net.Things started to look up even more when Ola Toivonen delivered a free-kick from twenty yards, around the England wall and inside the post.Sweden’s spirits had been lifted and with ten minutes left to play they were desperately seeking an equalizer and they didn’t have to look for long when another lovely ball from the right by Molins looked too long for Robin Soder, but he managed to gain the ball and send it to Berg who sent it home to even out the score to 3-3.Mikael Lustig had a chance to give Sweden the lead with a header at the back post, but he was unable to keep the ball down and the game moved into extra-time.Both sides had chances, but England were dealt a blow with two minutes to go in the first period of extra-time when Campbell was shown a second yellow card due to a challenge from behind on Lustig.  With ten minutes left to play, Berg almost bagged a hat-trick, a delightful header flew over Joe Hart from the edge of the area, but it struck the bar. Sweden were piling on the pressure and England seemed to be strugglingin the heat. Harbuuzi had a shot from 30 yards, but Hart reached upand flicked it over.Both teams made their last efforts in the dying stages of the game, Pearce made a final swap by replacing Fabrice Muamba with Adam Johnson and then Gustav Svensson tried his luck with a well struck shot from all of thirty yards, but Hart caught it.When Milner slipped for the first and sent his penalty over the bar, Sweden thought the game was theirs. But Hart stopped Berg’s effort with his feet.The referee produced another yellow card for Hart, which will mean he is another player unable to play in the final. The shootout was sent into sudden death. But when Molins hit the post, England’s place in the final was secured.

Penalties
England, Milner (slipped, high and wide) 0-0Sweden, Berg (saved by Hart’s feet) 0-0England, Hart (scored top left) 1-0Sweden, Elm (scored bottom left) 1-1England, Cattermole (scored bottom right) 2-1Sweden, Bjarsmyr (scored bottom left) 2-2England, Johnson (scored bottom right) 3-2Sweden, Lustig (scored top left) 3-3England, Walcott (scored bottom left) 4-3Sweden, Bengtsson (scored bottom right) 4-4England, Gibbs (scored bottom left) 5-4Sweden, Molins (hit post) 5-4


Full Time:  England 3    Sweden 3 England win 5-4 on penalties                    Cranie 1'                      Berg 68', 81'
                   Onuoha 27'                 Toivonen 75'                   Bjarsmyr 38' (og)
                                      
               Referee Cuneyt Cakir

Assistant Referees Noel De Bruyn, Oleksandr Voytyuk