England Under-21s Edge Semi-final Thriller

June 29, 2009

England’s Under-21s finally laid a 25 year hoodoo to rest as they beat Sweden on penalties in a thrilling semi-final clash. England had lost at this stage five times before but a missed penalty by Guillermo Molins was enough to put a host of bad memories to rest.

Stuart Pearce’s men were tournament favourites going into the match and got off to a flier with a goal after just 54 seconds, courtesy of Portsmouth defender Martin Crainie. Crainie fired home from a James Milner corner and the goal proved to be a sign of things to come, as England’s set pieces continued to cause havoc in the Swedish penalty area.

England stretched their lead in the 27^th minute when Nedam Onuoha pounced on a fluffed clearance to make it 2-0 and the ‘Three Lions’ were soon further ahead when another corner caused havoc in the Sweden penalty area, eventually resulting in an own goal from Mattias Bjarsmyr.

Indeed the only negative for Stuart Pearce at the break was a yellow card for Gabby Agbonlahor courtesy of a high challenge. The booking means Agbonlahor will miss the final but that soon proved to be the least of Pearce’s concerns, as the hosts came storming back after the break.

England had initially looked like stretching their lead as Theo Walcott made a number of penetrating runs but on 70 minutes that all changed as tournament top scorer Berg slotted in from a Molins cross.

Seven minutes later Sweden had pulled another back after Toivonen fired home a free kick and the comeback was complete after 81 minutes when Berg slammed home his second of the match.

Things went from bad to worse for England in extra time when Frazier Campbell was sent off for a second yellow card and Sweden very nearly made the extra man pay as Berg hit the crossbar with minutes remaining.

However England held on and despite James Milner missing his second penalty of the tournament and Joe Hart picking up a booking that rules him out of the final, a Molins miss provoked scenes of jubilation amongst those in white as England set up a final with old enemies, Germany. Football betting on this one is likely to be very interesting, so keep a close eye on the international football odds before kick off!

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