England U21s let a three-goal lead slip before beating Sweden U21s on penalties to reach the European Championship final.
Young Lions win on penalties after letting three-goal lead slip
England Under 21s let a three-goal lead slip before dramatically beating hosts Sweden U21s on penalties to progress to the European Championship final.
Stuart Pearce's side enjoyed a dream start, with Martin Cranie netting in the first minute from a James Milner corner.
Neduym Onuoha then doubled the advantage on 27 minutes, blasting home from close range, again from a Milner corner.
Mattias Bjarsmyr then turned the ball into his own goal seven minutes before the interval after Theo Walcott put a Milner corner back into the box and Lee Cattermole flicked on.
But Sweden got into the game after the break and pulled one back on 68 minutes when Marcus Berg scored from a Guillermo Molins cross.
Ola Toivonen then reduced the deficit to just one goal on 75 minutes after lifting his free-kick over the wall and into the net.
Berg completed the amazing comeback six minutes later after Robin Soder flicked a Molins cross back for him to slot home.
In the first period of extra-time, England's problems increased when substitute Frazier Campbell was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Then Gustav Svensson crossed from the right in the second period of extra-time and Berg's header from the edge of the box hit the bar with Hart beaten.
Penalties went to sudden death before Molins hit the right post to send England through 5-4 on spot-kicks.
They will face Germany in the final but will be without the suspended Campbell, as well as Gabriel Agbonlahor and Hart after their bookings.
Ends hoodoo
The victory finally ends a semi-final hoodoo for England boss Pearce, who had lost at the last-four stage twice as a player and also as a coach two years ago.
It has been seen as a psychological barrier which England teams could not get past but Pearce, after vowing to improve after Holland in 2007, has finally broken through.
Now the aim is to win a trophy, the first in any age-group since 1993 when Robbie Fowler, Gary Neville and Sol Campbell were among the U18s who won on home soil.
One triumph in the last 64 tournaments, since England won the U21s in 1984, is an abysmal record but there is hope that Pearce's talented youngsters can now end the drought.
Winning in Malmo on Monday would have implications for next year's World Cup with the seniors. Walcott is expected to be involved, possibly Hart and Milner, while Kieran Gibbs could make a late push.
These youngsters are at least schooled in England doing it the hard way - they were cruising until hitting the self-destruct button.
It was Milner who took the corner that saw England lead after just 53 seconds.
Micah Richards jumped for the ball initially but it found its way to Cranie, who took a touch with his chest before volleying home with the help of Agbonlahor jumping over the ball in front of Sweden goalkeeper Johan Dahlin.
It has been quite a tournament for Portsmouth defender Cranie, who has not scored a club goal in his career yet.
He may not have played in the tournament opener against Finland if Onuoha was fit but his performances since have kept Michael Mancienne out of the team.
Sweden had to regroup, with their first sight of goal coming from Toivonen, whose free-kick from 25 yards was parried by Hart.
Agbonlahor was one of three England players carrying yellow cards into the match and he received his second of the competition when he led with his arm while challenging with Bjarsmyr, meaning would miss the final.
It was while Bjarsmyr was being treated off the field that England grabbed the second.
It was a Milner corner again, with Onuoha this time allowed to take a touch close to the six-yard area, turn Rasmus Bengtsson and fire into the bottom corner.
It got worse for Bjarsmyr before the break when he tried to clear Cattermole's header from Walcott's cross, but sliced into his own net.
Swedish revival
The Swedes brought on Labinot Harbuzi and Molins at the interval, with Andreas Landgren and Martin Olsson making way - and they eventually forced their way into the game.
Agbonlahor's tournament came to an end when he was substituted just before the hour mark, with skipper Mark Noble consoling him as he left the pitch for Campbell.
Berg gave Sweden a glimmer of hope with 22 minutes remaining when he turned in Molins' cross.
Jack Rodwell came on for Noble to shore up the midfield, but Toivonen found the net from a free-kick to give the Swedes real hope, then the equaliser came with nine minutes left.
Molins crossed from the right again, Soder flicked backwards at the far post, with Berg applying the final touch.
Campbell received his second booking of the match during extra-time when he challenged with Mikael Lustig, and he had stormed off the pitch even before the red card had been shown.
Berg then hit the bar with a header, but the match went to penalties.
Milner slipped when he took the first and the ball flew over, but then Hart saved from Berg, scored one himself and also got booked to rule him out of the final.
Most importantly, he put off Molins, who hit the post to send England finally through to the last two of a tournament.
| England U21 |
Team Statistics |
Sweden U21 |
| 3 |
Goals |
3 |
| 3 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
12 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 6 |
Corners |
11 |
| 22 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 6 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 78.10% |
Passing Success |
72% |
| 19 |
Tackles |
35 |
| 84.20% |
Tackles Success |
82.90% |
| 48.50% |
Possession |
51.50% |
| 50.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
49.3 |
|
