At times it was Chelsea v Chelsea on the pitch in Zurich, as England fought Sweden to an exhausting conclusion on Thursday night to tee up a semi-final in the Women's Euros against Italy on Tuesday.
It was a tense, remarkable quarter-final that left both teams utterly drained. Manager Sarina Wiegman's task is now to ensure her Lionesses get enough rest and recovery time before they go again.
With Blues stars Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Niamh Charles, Lauren James and Keira Walsh (not to mention alumnus Jess Carter) all featuring for England, and Jo Jo Rytting Kaneryd and Nathalie Bjorn representing Sweden (together with former captain Magda Eriksson and past defender Jonna Andersson), there were umpteen intriguing clashes on the pitch between players oh-so familiar with the poky Kingsmeadow dressing room.
But Hampton emerged as the player everyone wanted to hug after England had clawed their way back from a 2-0 first-half deficit to level as the final whistle for the end of normal time loomed... with Bronze heading home one of those goals from a tight angle.
Extra time couldn't separate the well-matched sides, and so Hampton – now propelled to No1 goalkeeping choice following the surprise retirement of Mary Earps – was given the task of keeping out the Scandinavian spot kicks.
Adding to the drama, one of her nostrils was clogged with a blood-stained wad of gauze after she'd suffered a nosebleed near the end of extra time during a collision.
The Lionesses could have lost that shoot-out on three separate occasions, coming to within a single kick of defeat, but Hannah somehow saved when it mattered, hung in there when it counted, trusted to luck when appropriate and did all in her power to deny Sweden the goals that they needed.
Sweet Caroline rang out around the Stadion Letzigrund as half the 22,397 in attendance belted out the adopted anthem after England edged it.
Bronze was one of the players of the match, confidently blasting her own penalty high into the roof of the net.
But at the end you had to feel for Sweden, who had been technically superior for most of the match, and who were left wondering how they hadn't been the team advancing to the semis to face Italy, who defeated Norway in their quarter-final.
"Resilience is a quality that's so strong in this team," said Weigman at the end. "That togetherness and fight; it shows so much resilience. And luck, as well. Yes, at least three times I thought we were out!"
Tiredness had played its part in that shoot-out. Some of the penalties – on both sides – were as poor as you're likely to see; balls blasted over the bar, balls trickled forward. "It was a rollercoaster," said a breathless Bronze. "Both overwhelming and underwhelming. It was just a crazy game."
Hampton had time to joke: "I was better when I just had one nostril! The fans really pushed us on, and I really appreciated that." The Lionesses, it could be said, had won by a nose.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
