How England have fared at past World Cups as Lionesses gear up for semi-final

England have reached the last four of the Women's World Cup for the second time following their quarter-final victory over Norway.

Here, PA looks at how the Lionesses have performed in previous World Cups, having failed to qualify for the finals in 1991, 1999 and 2003.

1995, Sweden – Quarter-finals

England made their tournament debut in Sweden and qualified from Group B following wins over Canada and Nigeria and a defeat to Norway. However, Ted Copeland's side were then beaten 3-0 in the quarter-finals by Germany, who went on to lose to Norway in the final.

2007, China – Quarter-finals

A 6-1 thrashing of Argentina helped England advance unbeaten from Group A but they again came unstuck in the quarter-finals, losing 3-0 to the United States in front of a crowd of almost 30,000 at the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium.

2011, Germany – Quarter-finals

After drawing their opening game against Mexico, England beat New Zealand and Japan to top the group but suffered yet more quarter-final heartbreak against France, conceding an 88th-minute equaliser and then losing a penalty shoot-out 4-3. England manager Hope Powell accused some of her senior players of "cowardice" for not volunteering to take a penalty.

2015, Canada – Third place

England bounced back from an opening defeat to France to secure narrow wins over Mexico and Colombia and finish second in the group on goal difference. A 2-1 win over Norway in the last 16 was followed by another victory by the same scoreline over Canada in the quarter-finals, but their luck ran out in the semi-finals as Laura Bassett's freak own-goal in the 92nd minute gave Japan victory. An extra-time win over Germany in the third place play-off was little consolation.

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