Women’s EURO 2022: How Sweden’s game plan was pulled apart by ruthless England – tactical analysis

Bramall Lane had a record 28,624 fans watching the first semi-final of the Women’s Euro 2022 between two of the biggest teams in the game. Sweden had only lost three times to England in their history, demonstrating how monumental of a victory it was for the Lionesses, especially as it took them to their third ever final in the competition. It was an end-to-end first half but the one-nil lead England took into the break, and the early goal in the 47^th minute, caused Sweden to collapse.

This tactical analysis will break down how Sweden’s shape was torn apart by England as they exploit the pressing and space between Peter Gerhardsson’s side with the brilliance within the Lioness squad.

Lineups

England’s starting eleven was unchanged for the fifth consecutive match. The starting formation though, was a slightly different 4-1-4-1 formation to the normal 4-2-3-1 as Wiegman looked to go more aggressive in the midfield. Once again substitutions played a part in the win, with the earliest being Russo coming off the bench in the 57^th minute to score the third goal with an audacious backheel.

Sweden made two changes to their starting eleven with Nildén swapped out for Bayern Munich Frauens Glas in left-back and Jakobsson replacing Rytting Kaneryd on the right wing. Gerhardsson set his team up in a 4-4-1-1, which is a variation on their usual 4-4-2, but the two strikers work vertically together instead of horizontally. The reasoning behind the tactical change was clear from how Sweden chose to press the backline of England which in turn hindered their defensive performance further down the pitch. The Swedish press is what this piece will explore first.

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