(Football news) England secured a dramatic victory over Spain in the Women’s Euro 2022 with an extra time winner by Georgia Stanway to reach the semi finals. The Lionesses secured a 2-1 victory at the Amex Stadium despite being outperformed by their opponents for the majority of the match. Spain had more possession and shots in what was an ill-tempered clash and didn’t let the hosts have any sort of momentum in the fixture. 

England had a goal and penalty disallowed by VAR in the first half and it was Spain who found the breakthrough in the 54th minute when half-time substitute Athenea del Castillo beat Rachel Daly on the right flank before providing an assist to Esther Gonzalez who fired past Mary Earps. It was the first goal the Lionesses have conceded at Euro 2022 and looked to be on their way out of the tournament until the 84th minute before Ella Toone found the back of the net, resulting in the game going into extra time. 

Spain were disappointed after conceding the equaliser as they believed the referee should have given a foul when England’s Russo made contact with Irene Parades in the build-up. Such was the frustration in Spain’s camp that when referee Stephanie Frappart and VAR didn’t give the foul, Spain's substitute goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez was shown a yellow card for dissent while on the sidelines. With 29,000 spectators largely cheering for an England win, it was Georgia Stanway who proved to be the hero for the Lionesses. Keira Walsh provided the pass to Stanway who unleashed a thunderbolt of a shot from 20 yards out to secure the victory. England will now face either Belgium or Sweden in the semi final on Tuesday at Bramall Lane 

Speaking after the match, England head coach Sarina Wiegman said “I think I went a little crazy. I was so happy – I tried to stay calm but it was so close, a game which could've gone either way. I was so happy that we won. We showed resilience, we showed we could come from behind. From the 80th minute, we changed shape and scored very quickly. Then we went back to that, and in extra-time at the moment we scored we were a little better. We were a little fresher, then they had to score again and were pushing. For the fans in the stadium and watching on TV, it was an incredible game. The fans here were so behind us, it was incredible to experience. 

"Every game, the subs have had an influence. It shows the depth in our team, the eagerness of every player to start or come on. Everyone is also on the same page all the time, and want to make a difference. I'm just really happy with that, we're all supportive, everyone knows their task, otherwise you can't do what you bring on the pitch. I don't make the decisions on my own, we have a technical staff communicating what we want to do before a game, during a game we talk about scenarios – it's teamwork too. What the fans did for us was really a home advantage, it was really incredible to experience and it really helped our team."

Also read: Euro 2022: Belgium Women defeat Italy to reach quarter finals