Stina Blackstenius teed up Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani to score in the second minute after England gave the ball away cheaply through Jess Carter.

A frenetic opening six minutes also saw England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton caught out on the edge of the box, prompting Leah Williamson to block Blackstenius's effort in front of an empty net, before Lauren Hemp's floated effort was tipped onto the crossbar by Jennifer Falk in Sweden's goal.

With the Lionesses struggling to find their rhythm, Sweden took advantage, with Blackstenius racing in behind the defence, skinning Carter to drive a low shot under Hampton into the left side of the net.

Hampton made an excellent save to keep England from going three goals down before the break, and was again on hand to pull off another excellent stop as Sweden failed to take another chance early in the second period, allowing England to find a path back into a contest it looked well and truly out of.

Lucy Bronze pulled the first goal back in the 79th minute, meeting substitute Chloe Kelly's pinpoint cross to the far post and heading home from a tight angle.

Michelle Agyemang levelled two minutes later with a superb poacher's finish to send the game to extra-time as another Kelly cross from the left wing caused havoc in Sweden's defence.

Both sides had their fair share of chances in extra-time but the game went to penalties.

Falk saved four spot-kicks in a row, but then took the responsibility of taking what would have been a decisive penalty of her own had she not skied it well over the bar.

That allowed Bronze to blast home and put England into an advantageous lead and Holmberg ballooned her attempt over uder the pressure as the defending champion went through to the last four, where it will meet Italy, much to the delight of Hampton.

"It has all gone so quick, the last little bit in the penalty shootout!," she said.

"We're very happy. You can see the celebrations; the fans were behind us the whole game. Even when we were 2-0 down, they knew we could bring this back, and you don't ever write us off.

"It was stressful. Stressful watching, stressful playing.

"Every time I saved one, I was just thinking, 'Please put it in, so we have a bit of a cushion!' I'm just happy and relieved now.

"It [the fans' support] helps you get a bit of an edge and push you on, stretch a little extra for each dive and put more power in. They were definitely behind me, and I appreciate all the support."

England became the first team to progress from a knockout tie at the Women's Euros having trailed by two or more goals.

While Bronze had the deciding say in what is her sixth major tournament, she praised the substitutes' impact, with Kelly taking just 63 seconds to set up the right-back's goal.

"It was a rollercoaster," Bronze said. "Both underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. A crazy game, as a player, and for fans too.

"Holding the team together in the first half was difficult. They had a few good chances to put the game to bed; lucky for us, we kept them out. The substitutes changed the dynamic of the game.

"On paper, Italy are ranked lower, but they've got everything to win. I thought they played well, they deserve to be in the semi-final."