England Women vs France Women. Women's European Championship Quarter-Final.
De Adelaarshorst.
Monday 31 July 2017 09:35, UK
Jodie Taylor struck again as England defied decades of history to reach the Women's Euro 2017 semi-finals with a 1-0 victory over France in Deventer.
The result ended a winless run over France which stretched back to 1974, when England defeated Les Bleues 2-0 in a friendly in Wimbledon, and they will face tournament hosts the Netherlands on Thursday for a place in Sunday's final in Enschede.
Taylor slid the ball past Sarah Bouhaddi for her fifth goal of the tournament in the 60th minute to put England through, with the suspension of Jill Scott for the next round and an injury to goalkeeper Karen Bardsley being the only disappointments for manager Mark Sampson.
The result came hours after pre-tournament favourites Germany were knocked out by Denmark, suffering a shock 2-1 defeat that means they cannot land a seventh consecutive European title.
Sampson named the same starting line-up that began the first two group matches against Scotland and Spain as he looked to extend England's 100 per cent record.
Fran Kirby was the only England player to not start in the most recent clash between the two sides - a 2-1 defeat in the SheBelieves Cup in March - while France captain Wendie Renard was missing due to suspension.
In what was a tight and tense first half, chances were few with neither side wanting to make a mistake.
The two sides exchanged early half chances with Taylor volleying high over the crossbar before Marie-Laure Delie sliced wide after getting in behind the England defence.
England went close again in the 21st minute when Jordan Nobbs' free-kick picked out Mille Bright at the back post, but the defender failed to hit the target with her header.
Both sides struggled to make full use of the ball, and England suffered a blow when Scott picked up the yellow card which rules her out of the last-four clash with the Netherlands for a late challenge on Amandine Henry.
After the break, the opening exchanges continued in the same vein with both sides cancelling each other out before Jessica Houara-d'Hommeaux's far-post cross picked out Eugenie Le Sommer, but she could not get her header on target.
Lucy Bronze dispossessed Le Sommer in the centre of the pitch before driving at the heart of the France defence and playing an inch-perfect through ball to Taylor. The striker didn't need a second invitation, firing a composed finish past Bouhaddi to spark wild celebrations from the England camp.
France looked to hit back straight away with Bronze keeping out Kadidiatou Diani's effort and Bardsley denying Delie at her near post.
Substitute Elodie Thomis caused instant problems on the right wing and evaded Bright's challenge in the penalty area to cut back to Delie, but her pass was crucially intercepted by England captain Steph Houghton.
England's challenge became even greater when then lost Bardsley to what appeared to be an ankle injury. She was replaced by Siobhan Chamberlain for the final 15 minutes and the incoming goalkeeper failed to deal with a cross with her first touch as the ball fell at the feet of Thomis, but the Lyon winger flashed her volley wide.
And Chamberlain was again extremely grateful to see substitute Claire Lavogez's low drive whistle narrowly wide before Clarisse Le Bihan's header from close range nestled safely into her arms in stoppage time.
England move into the semi-finals where they will face host nation the Netherlands. The last-four clash will take place on Thursday at 7.45pm at the FC Twente Stadion, Enschede.
