Sweden enter the unknown after shootout loss to England

Find out what’s new on ST website and app.

ZURICH - Swedens agonising defeat by England on penalties in coach Peter Gerhardssons final game in charge had them exit Euro 2025 on Thursday and plunged the team into a period of uncertainty as many others in the set-up also consider their futures.

Gerhardsson announced earlier in the year that he would be stepping down after the Euros and former Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson has already been announced as his successor, but how the squad and backroom team looks when he takes the reins in the coming weeks remains to be seen.

There are a lot of us on the team who will be leaving after this, so there are a lot of emotions involved. But when you make a decision... even if you dont know how far youll go in a tournament, theres only this game right now, Gerhardsson told reporters.

The game in question was a thriller, a 2-2 draw capped off by a hair-raising penalty shootout that had saves, spot-kicks sent high, and a goalkeeper in Swedens Jennifer Falk who saved four of seven penalties, but still ended up on the losing side after 18-year-old Smilla Holmberg missed for Sweden.

Sweden cruised through the group stage, winning all three games and took a 2-0 halftime lead into the break, but England coach Sarina Wiegmans late substitutions resulted in two quick goals, extra time and a painful repeat of Swedens 3-2 loss to Canada in the 2021 Olympic final.

Falks overall performance would suggest that she will continue to be the first-choice goalkeeper, but captain Kosovare Asllani and winger Sofia Jakobsson are both 35, and defender Linda Sembrandt is 38, suggesting that they may have played their last