England fans could be forgiven for having a strange sense of deja vu on Thursday, as the Lionesses somehow escaped the clutches of a defeat that would've ended their European Championship title defence. One could argue that the holders deserved to be beaten, owing to a sloppy and error-strewn performance that left them 2-0 down after 25 minutes and still trailing by the same scoreline as the clock prepared to tick into its 80th minute. But, thanks to two goals in quick succession, they dragged themselves to a penalty shootout - where they defied the odds to prevail, outscoring Sweden 3 to 2 after 14 crazy spot-kicks.
It was two years ago when England looked to be on the brink of another premature exit - at the World Cup. The woodwork came to the Lionesses' rescue more than once as they battled through a numerical disadvantage, following Lauren James' red card, to again limp to a shootout, this one against Nigeria in the last 16. There, though, they held their nerve, winning 4-2 to continue a run that would take them all the way to the final.
There are many differences between the two games - the stature of the opponents, the goals, and lack thereof, the manner in which things played out, but perhaps the biggest was that, on this occasion, there were very few who held their nerve. This was a shootout that had everyone and anyone watching in utter disbelief. It was all a bit delirious as just five of the 14 penalties taken were scored, with the most memorable miss being that of Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk, who could've sealed her nation's spot in the semi-finals had she not wildly blasted the ball into the stands.
But there were some who kept their composure - and most of them were English. Amid the chaos Hannah Hampton made two huge saves, including one to deny Sofia Jakobsson when she stepped up to try and do what Falk couldn't, and win the thing. Chloe Kelly, scorer of the winning spot-kick against Nigeria, was a picture of cool, even flashing a smile at her opponent before she found the back of the net. And, of course, Lucy Bronze, whose thumping, Stuart Pearce-esque effort would prove to be the decisive one.
It all created the one, significant similarity between this night in Zurich and that night, two years ago, in Brisbane: The feeling of somehow escaping a loss that, at points, felt certain to engulf England. Will the Lionesses now convert the narrowly avoided exit into a run, just like they had at the World Cup, which took them to the final? Sarina Wiegman and her side will certainly hope so, albeit with one key difference: This time, they won't just reach the showpiece event; they'll win it.
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Stadion Letzigrund...