Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson aiming to have ‘very good plan’ for England clash

Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson admits he may need to conjure an extra special game plan after setting up a Euro 2022 semi-final showdown with hosts England.

The tournament’s highest ranked team will take on the Lionesses on Tuesday evening at Bramall Lane having been reliant on a last-gasp winner for Friday’s unconvincing 1-0 victory over Belgium.

“We’re going to have a plan,” Gerhardsson said of taking on Sarina Wiegman’s side in Sheffield. “I don’t know right now what we’re going to make up.

“But I can assure that we’re going to have a plan – and we need a good plan, we need a very good plan, and maybe we need an extremely, very good plan. It’s a really good team. It’s going to be an interesting challenge.”

The quarter-finals conclude on Saturday evening with defending champions the Netherlands facing France for the right to take on Germany.

Sweden made to sweat

Sweden were only spared a tense extra-time period against the persistent Belgians after defender Linda Sembrant struck two minutes into added time at Leigh Sports Village.

The 1984 European champions, who had a first-half Stina Blackstenius goal ruled out for offside following a VAR review, dominated proceedings but squandered a host of chances before releasing a mixture of relief and jubilation at full-time.

Sweden’s Magdalena Eriksson conceded a nervy evening had been a severe mental challenge and revealed she was close to tears following the decisive goal.

The Chelsea defender – one of eight WSL players in Gerhardsson’s squad – knows her side must swiftly recover physically, having been given two days fewer than England to prepare for next week’s crunch clash.

“I know all the players they have, they are extremely talented players, so we’re going to have