Sweden headed to England this summer with a clear target: to get to Wembley for the EURO 2022 final and leave with the trophy.
That did not happen. Instead, the Swedes had to leave the pitch in Sheffield in tears after a humiliating 4-0 loss to the hosts in the semifinal.
Sweden won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1984 – a humble four-team competition – prevailing over England in penalty kicks. That was 38 years ago. Even though Sweden has earned medals recently – third at the 2019 World Cup and a silver medal at last year’s Olympics – Swedish players went to England this summer to fulfill their dreams of winning a big international tournament. For the first time in years, the feeling was that Sweden actually could do it this time.
Reality hit hard in the final stages once again, however.
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