(Football news) A very late goal by Linda Sembrant saw Sweden edge out Belgium 1-0 at the Leigh Sports Village. Few would have predicted how close this quarter-final clash would be as Sweden entered into the fixture as clear favourites and managed to find the back of the net in the first half when Stina Blackstenius fired past goalkeeper Nicky Evrard but the goal was disallowed by the VAR after she was deemed offside. 

Despite the scoreline, the Swedes had 33 shots but couldn’t find a breakthrough past a resolute Belgium defence. However, Belgium finally conceded in the 90 + 2nd minute when Evrard, who made some brilliant saves throughout the match could do nothing when Sembrant turned home from close range from the rebound, resulting in Belgium being beaten in their first ever knockout game at a major tournament. The result means that Sweden will now take on England on Tuesday evening for a place in the Euro 2022 finals.

Speaking after the match, Swedish defender Magdalena Eriksson said “It feels unbelievable. That was our goal for the day. It wasn't easy and 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. 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. There are so many emotions. I felt the tears coming because I was so happy. It was a frustrating evening, but to finally get that relief, I'm so proud of all the girls for how hard we fought." 

Also read: Euro 2022: Germany Women defeat Austria to progress into semi finals