‘I know all their players’ – Sweden’s Magdalena Eriksson relishes Euro 2022 semi-final with England

Sweden defender Magdalena Eriksson said she was close to tears after a stoppage-time winner against Belgium sent her country through to the Euro 2022 semi-finals, where they will face hosts England.

The Swedes had a frustrating night in front of goal and they had racked up 32 attempts to Belgium’s three to no avail going into added time.

But the tournament’s top-ranked team – at no.2 in the world – finally found the breakthrough with a close-range finish from Linda Sembrant in the 92nd minute.

“I felt the tears coming because I was so happy,” Eriksson told the BBC.

“It was a frustrating evening. To finally get that relief, oh my God. I’m so proud of all the girls for how hard we fought.”

Sweden began their Euros campaign with a draw against the Netherlands, but have now won three games in a row against Switzerland, Portugal and the Red Flames.

But they were made to work hard for a place in the last four, as Stina Blackstenius had a first-half goal ruled out for offside following a VAR review and Belgium goalkeeper Nicky Evrard had a fine game.

“It feels unbelievable. That was our goal for the day. It wasn’t easy. Belgium made it really difficult. I’m so happy we got the win. I’m so happy for Linda and that we finally got the goal,” Eriksson added.

“It was really tough. We had to stay mentally really strong. We had to stay positive. We did that. We were going to go until the 94th minute and keep pushing.”

Eriksson is no stranger to the Lionesses side she will come up against at Bramall Lane next Tuesday.

The 28-year-old has played her club football with Chelsea Women for the last five years, and is more than aware of the challenge posed by Sarina Wiegman’s side.

“It’s going to be an extremely tough game. England have been amazing in the tournament so far,” she said.

“I know all the players – extremely talented players. We have to be really on it. It’s about recovering and getting fresh again.”

Asked about the potential advantage of England having two days’ extra rest, she said: “No. We’re in the flow of playing games. It’s about what we make of it. I’m sure we’ll be 100% fresh on Tuesday.”

England face Sweden at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on Tuesday 26 July, while the second semi-final will take place the following day between Germany and the winner of Saturday’s quarter-final clash between France and the Netherlands.