England triumphed in a thrilling penalty shoot-out against Sweden in Zurich, keeping their hopes of consecutive Euros titles alive. Swedish goalkeeper Jennifer Falk managed to save penalties from Lauren James, Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton, but missed her own opportunity to secure victory before England clinched the win in sudden death.

The shootout brought about a series of missed spot-kicks, as tension skyrocketed and both sides continued to awkwardly watch on.

Earlier in the match, substitute Chloe Kelly made an immediate impact, assisting Lucy Bronze for England’s first goal and playing a crucial role in Michelle Agyemang’s equaliser, which forced the game into extra time.

With a semi-final against Italy at stake, both teams fought hard during the additional 30 minutes, but ultimately, it was decided by penalties, with England emerging victorious. Kosovare Asllani had given Sweden an early lead in the second minute, putting England on the back foot.

The opposition could have extended their lead before Stina Blackstenius doubled it just before the half-hour mark, leaving England facing a two-goal deficit at half-time.

However, England’s substitutions proved pivotal. Lucy Bronze and substitute Michelle Agyemang scored within a minute of each other, drawing the reigning champions level with just 10 minutes remaining and forcing the game into extra time.

Sweden, having not lost a game in a full year, made two changes to their line-up, while England’s manager Sarina Wiegman kept faith with the same team that triumphed over the Netherlands. This meant Jess Carter was paired with Leah Williamson in central defence, a decision that seemed questionable as Sweden took an early lead.

Carter’s partially blocked pass led to Keira Walsh striking the ball against Filippa Angeldahl, which then fell kindly for Blackstenius to set up Asllani who slotted the ball past Hannah Hampton.

Another misplaced pass from Carter nearly resulted in a second goal for Sweden, but Williamson managed a crucial block to deny her Arsenal teammate Blackstenius after Hampton failed to control the ball.

England did manage to create a scoring opportunity, only for Jennifer Falk to tip Lauren Hemp’s shot onto the bar. However, Sweden doubled their lead before half-time, with Carter unable to stop Blackstenius from latching onto Julia Zigiotti Olme’s through-ball and beating Hampton.

In the second half, England showed more aggression, switching Hemp to the right and Lauren James to the left, but their search for a goal left them exposed at the back. In a bid to turn the tide, Wiegman brought on Michelle Agyemang, Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly to bolster the attack in the final stages.

However, it was a member of the defence who reduced the deficit, with Bronze sneaking in at the back post to head home a long-range cross from Chloe Kelly. Almost immediately after that goal, England equalised.

Another cross from Kelly was nudged on by Mead and there was Agyemang to coolly slot the ball into the net.

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara has ripped into Nottingham Forest for blocking Morgan Gibbs-White’s move.

He told Grosvenor Sport: “Morgan Gibbs-White should go to the PFA, he should sue Nottingham Forest, and he should refuse to train. I think Forest are a disgrace, the way they have dealt with the situation is disgusting.

“He has signed a contract, and there’s a release clause of £60m pounds in there. He knows it’s in there, his agent knows it’s in there and Nottingham Forest know that it’s in there.

“He has agreed to that contract on those terms, whether he has become a better player at Forest that is worth more than £60m, that’s on him.

“Now, when someone finds out about the release clause, which happens every day in football, people find stuff out and agents talk, Nottingham Forest suddenly decide they can’t have that, and the clause is confidential.

“What do you mean confidential? It’s a release clause in a player’s contract; he’s entitled to know about it and tell people about it. What is going on here?

“Evangelos Marinakis has had an absolute stinker, and his club is going to lose Morgan Gibbs-White for 60 million because he’s done better than they expected, and someone found out. It’s a disgrace.

“A player can tell who he wants about his contract, he’s earned it, and they were all happy to sign it at the time. Now suddenly it’s illegal, what on earth are they on about? It’s disgusting.”

One former Wimbledon quarter-finalist was involved in a tense on-court row with his opponent at the Nordea Open in Sweden. Cristian Garin, who reached the last eight of Wimbledon in 2022, even went as far as calling out rival Camilo Ugo Carabelli to “see him outside”.

The two were competing in the competition’s round-of-32, with Argentine Carabelli taking the win by a comfortable 6-4, 6-4 margin. It was a match that had been played in good spirits, but after Carabelli had secured match point, tempers began to flare.

On the way back to their chairs, both players were heard exchanging verbals, with Carabelli said to have called Garin a “bobo”, which translates to “idiot” or “fool” in Spanish. Garin, unhappy with the exchange, replied in Spanish: “Why do you call me idiot? Why are you calling me fool, what’s wrong with you?”

Garin went on to ask the umpire for intervention, but they were not for moving, given they didn’t understand what was being said. The back-and-forth continued though, with Carabelli said to have claimed “nobody likes” Garin before wishing him a pleasant journey home.

That wasn’t something Garin took well to, with things coming to a head when the 29-year-old said: “I’ll see you outside to see if you have the guts.” A bold statement from one professional to another!

It’s been a hectic few weeks for Garin, who was handed a spot at Wimbledon as one of the lucky losers last month. Recalling his agonising wait to see if he’d be involved, Garin told the ATP Tour: “On Thursday I lost in four or five hours in the last round of qualifying, five sets. I was just really sad and upset, so down. But I knew that I was seeded in qualifying so I would have a good chance to get a lucky loser spot but then when I was third down on the list, I didn’t have expectations to play.

“Two guys pulled out on Friday, but then no one did over the weekend. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking maybe I’d get in or maybe not. And today in the morning I got a call at about seven that someone was not going to play. So I came at eight in the morning. It was crazy. I quickly left the room, came here and then had a small hit and then I was on court playing.”