BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Defending champion England faces Spain in the final of the Women’s European Championship.
The match in Basel is a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final where Spain defeated the Lionesses 1-0.
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Coincidentally, the same countries played in the men’s European Championship final last year. Spain won that match 2-1.
Here’s the latest:
Defending champions did it the hard way
England got off to a rough start with a 2-1 defeat to France, becoming the first reigning champion to lose its opening match at a women’s Euros. The team bounced back with a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and a 6-1 thrashing of Wales.
Then came the craziness of its quarterfinal against Sweden when it was trailing 2-0 with 12 minutes to go before equalizing and taking the match to extra time and a penalty shootout. There were nine failed penalty attempts before England finally triumphed 3-2.
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England left it even later in its semifinal against Italy. Teenager Michelle Agyemang leveled in stoppage time to force extra time and fellow substitute Chloe Kelly scored in the 119th minute to secure a 2-1 win, just as it appeared another penalty shootout was looming.
(Almost) smooth sailing for Spain
Spain swept through the group stage, winning all three matches against Portugal, Belgium and Italy — scoring 14 goals and conceding three.
Spain found it tougher to get past Switzerland in the quarterfinals but finally broke the resistance of the host nation with two quickfire goals midway through the second half. Spain also missed two penalties and hit the woodwork three times.
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Like England, its semifinal lasted 120 minutes. It took a moment of magic from two-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí in the 113th minute to secure a 1-0 win over Germany.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer