When the sides met in Gothenburg for a Group D clash a little over a week earlier, Sweden put up a strong fight but Italy still ran away with a 3-0 win. Without home advantage, the Swedes were given little chance of causing an upset this time.

But Sweden, who knocked out Czech Republic in their own backyard in the Round of 16, had other ideas in the opening set, coming from 11-6 down to go 15-14 up. From 18-18, the underdogs finished strongly, dropping just three more points to take a 25-21 win, as the Italians lost a set for just the second time all championship.

In the second set, a confident Sweden took a 3-0 lead, but that was the biggest lead either team held throughout, as the narrow lead changed hands many times before the world and Olympic champions held their nerve at the death to turn 24-24 into a 26-24 victory.

The Swedish fairy tale looked on once again when the Scandinavians came back from 12-6 down in the third set to equalise at 21-21. But that dream was quickly snuffed out when the Italians rallied to put together a 4-0 streak and win 25-21.

No matter how close Sweden were coming, Italy had the answers when it mattered most - that continued in the fourth set, as the underdogs came back from 19-14 down to lead by two, 22-20, but this time the Italians won four of the final five points, winning 25-23 for a 3-1 victory in the match.

Italy will play Poland or the Netherlands for a place in the final, while Sweden equal their best European Championship performance in their history, as Isabelle Haak set a new record, - 247 -  for most points in a Women's European Championship.

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