The song at the final whistle was wholly appropriate: I Will Survive blasted out the speakers and England, somehow, had done exactly that as they clambered through their biggest test.
Quite how they did it needs some explaining because for long periods, it felt like a night for inquests and recriminations but, instead, it ended with dancing and delirium and that rarest thing: a penalty shootout triumph.
The final denouement was a bonkers as the previous 120 minutes but who cares if it was mad cap? England missed four times from 12 yards but they had Hannah Hampton, who made three saves and came of age in goal.
Both sides took seven penalties and the final scoreline of 3-2 tells you how much nerves were at play but Sarina Wiegman’s team got the job done. They are in the semi-finals once again.
