Following two recent semifinal heartbreaks, goals from Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Fran Kirby helped ease fears of more pain.
But the main talking point was Russo’s creative and brilliant back-heel in the second half which squeaked through goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl’s legs, sparking scenes of wild celebration.
And just like the England players on the pitch who couldn’t believe what they’d just seen, social media and fans alike were also gobsmacked by the moment of genius from the English forward.
The Wednesday morning newspapers in the UK took the opportunity to pay homage to Russo’s finish, with the Daily Mirror saying: “Heel’s on fire.”
Other papers chose to praise the performance by the England team as a whole, with the Metro making a Swedish-based pun, saying “Abba some of that!”
England manager Sarina Wiegman praised Russo’s ability to change the game after the substitute’s goal. “You must have so much courage to do something, such an unpredictable and phenomenal thing like that,” Wiegman told a press conference afterwards.
For Russo herself, after scoring arguably the goal of the tournament, she admitted that she didn’t “know how it went in,” having missed an easier opportunity to score moments earlier.
“I just thought it was the quickest route to get it in the back of the net without having to turn and I was fortunate it went it. I didn’t really see it go in, so I don’t really know how it went in to be honest. But I just celebrated and enjoyed the moment.”
The victory secures England’s place at Wembley on Sunday and continues Wiegman’s remarkable personal record of never having lost a game at a European Championship having won in 2017 with the Netherlands.
And she’s not done yet.
“(The media asked), ‘Are you ready to make history?’ This is history,” Wiegman said. “We want to inspire the nation. I think that’s what we’re doing. We want to make a difference.”