Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk reveals why she took fifth penalty during shootout defeat to England | OneFootball

Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk has revealed why she took her country’s fifth penalty during the dramatic Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout defeat to England.

The Lionesses looked to be heading out of Euro 2025 after Lauren James, Beth Mead and Alex Greenwood all saw their penalties saved by Falk.

Sweden just had to score their fifth penalty to secure a spot in the Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy.

However, there was much confusion when Falk lined up to take what could have been the decisive penalty.

The BK Hacken goalkeeper blazed her effort over the crossbar squandering a glorious opportunity for Sweden.

Falk made amends by saving Grace Clinton’s penalty giving Sweden a second chance to win the shootout. However, misses from Sofia Jakobsson and Smilia Holmberg were punished by Lucy Bronze, sending the Lionesses to the semi-finals.

It was one of the craziest penalty shootouts in women’s football history, with fans flocking to social media to give their reaction.

Of which, many were left confused by the decision to make Falk take such an important penalty. The fifth penalty is so often the one that settles a penalty shootout and is typically reseved for one of the side’s strongest spot-kick takers.

Why did goalkeeper Jennifer Falk take the fifth penalty for Sweden against England?

After their Euro 2025 exit, Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk revealed that she was asked to take the fifth penalty by their manager Peter Gerhardsson.

The manager who will now leave the role, explained that he had a meeting with the players before the game over the order of penalty takers.

He said: “We had a meeting and the players asked us to make a list: from one to eleven. But of course these are incredibly difficult decisions.”

The decision to put Falk on the fifth penalty proved costly as Sweden missed out on the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time during his eight-year stint in charge of the country.

Jennifer Falk gives X-rated verdict on her penalty against England

Jennifer Falk gave a brutal assessment of her penalty which she blazed over the bar when she could have settled the quarter-final for Sweden against England.

As per Expressen, she said: “I just thought I would take a few deep breaths and put it to the left, which I didn’t do.

“It was f***ing c**p and then it was just about focusing on saving the next penalty.”

However, her opposing No.1 Hannah Hampton defended her after the shootout.

The England goalkeeper said: “She did unbelievably well in the shoot-out with the amount of saves she made.

“I was thinking she might just focus on saving them like I tried to do. She had enough bravery to step up for Sweden and she’s seen as a hero for keeping them in it all the way up to the end.”

England seal semi-final spot against Italy

England will now turn their attention to a Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy, who reached the last-four by defeating Norway.

According to the UK’s top betting sites, England are 2/5 favourites to beat Italy in regular time.

The Italians are priced at 9/2, while a draw, which would see the game go to extra time and penalties, has odds of 11/4.