Suzanne Wrack was at Stade de Genève and her verdict is in. Here it is. Congratulations to the Lionesses, commiserations to Le Azzurre, and thanks to you for reading this MBM.
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Sarina Wiegman’s turn to speak with ITV. “Relief … when you score so late in normal time … and extra time … then a penalty we score on the rebound … coming behind against Italy, you know you have a problem … we had some serious challenges … the first half we didn’t play well … the second half we did better … they defended really well, too … a lot of blocks … really aggressive and winning lots of duels … really happy now we’re going to the final … we always had the opportunity to bring fresh players in … a lot of quality … we had to get a hole in the wall … [Chloe Kelly] thrives on these moments … she is excited … she loves them, you can tell … [Michelle Agyemang] is a talent, what a talent … we never give up … we can win by any means … this team just keeps going, we never give up.”
Michelle Agyemang talks to ITV. “I’m so proud of the team’s fight and effort … we were down … to show that character and fight … it’s the strength of this team … it means the world to me … I’m so grateful … four years ago I was throwing a ball to some of these girls and now I’m playing with them … everything went in a flash … we knew we were going to get a chance … we took them and got the win … so special … it was a great team moment … it’ll live in my heart forever … we’re going to enjoy the moment … one more game left, and we’re ready for it.”
Lucy Bronze speaks to ITV. “We don’t do things the easy way … we find a way to win … we found a way to get the goals and get the ball in the back of the net … so proud … Italy played a good game in the first half … we showed a lot of resilience and fight … we were lethargic … the subs make such an impact … the importance of the squad … the people who come on make a difference … there’s been a lot of criticism over the years over consistency … we don’t always win but what other team has got to three consecutive finals and six consecutive semi-finals … that’s crazy … it’s not an easy feat … not many teams have done that.”
Spain or Germany? “Don’t care … they’re both fantastic teams … both played unbelievable … it’s either a rematch of the Euros final or the World Cup final … either way it’s going to be a fantastic game tomorrow and an amazing final!”
England’s match-winning hero Chloe Kelly speaks to ITV. “Unbelievable … such a great feeling … three finals on the bounce and we want more … it’s an unbelievable feeling … that penalty wasn’t supposed to go like that … but I was ready for the rebound … luckily I got there for the tap-in … [Michelle Agyemang] is at it again … she’s an unbelievable player … she’s got the world at her feet … a bright future … I’m buzzing for her … this team shows resilience … we have hope … belief … the quality … we need to keep at it to make sure we’re right next weekend.”
Italy are as devastated as England are ecstatic. Plenty of tears. Their captain Cristiana Girelli is one of many distraught. Several other players stunned by England’s smash-and-grab raid. Their plan nearly paid off … and would have done had Emma Severini slotted from a couple of yards with regulation time running out. But she didn’t have the ice-cool touch that Michelle Agyemang would display moments later, and here we all are. Italy put up a fine show, and got further than many expected them to. But having got so close to the final, it’ll be almost impossible to take a measured view on their achievements right now.
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England cavort in delight! Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly the heroes yet again! They all link arms and advance towards their fans, skipping and leaping with delight. Another victory snatched from the jaws of defeat! This one in much more dramatic fashion than the quarter-final win over Sweden, and that was enough of a rollercoaster. Agyemang swept home a late, late equaliser, then nearly won it towards the end of extra time with an audacious improvised lob. But moments later Kelly missed a penalty, but rammed home the rebound. From the middle of a huddle, a delighted Sarina Wiegman gives one last pep-talk of the evening. England are through to yet another final!
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EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: England 2-1 Italy
England will take the defence of their trophy all the way! They’re through to the final, where they’ll face either Spain or Germany on Sunday!
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ET 30 min +4: Mead is booked for a late clip on Caruso. Giuliani sends the resulting free kick long, but England knock it back upfield, and …
ET 30 min +3: Italy throw everyone forward, but now it’s England’s turn to hold their shape. The Lionesses so close now!
ET 30 min +2: Italy’s bench in floods of tears. Their coach Andrea Soncin, fuming, thinks about storming off down the tunnel but is encouraged to come back.
ET 30 min +1: Greenwood is replaced by Carter in the first of three additional minutes.
ET 30 min: Kelly stands by the corner flag, and strikes a pose. Kelly and Agyemang have done it again!
GOAL! England 2-1 Italy (Kelly 119)
Kelly takes a hop and a step, aims for the bottom-left corner, and … Giuliani saves! But the ball rebounds to Kelly, who forces the ball into the net from close range! What a turnaround!
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Penalty for England!
ET 28 min: Hemp’s cross comes in from the left. Mead is wrestled to the ground by Severini, shoved from behind. The referee points to the spot! It’s soft, but if you give the referee a decision to make, it’ll sometimes go against you. Severini, who missed that golden chance to put Italy 2-0 up, suffers another nightmare. Kelly to take.
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ET 27 min: Agyemang competes with Salvai down the inside-right channel. She enters the box and extends a leg, looping over Giuliani and towards the top-left corner … but off the underside of the bar and away! What an effort!
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ET 26 min: Piemonte sends Oliviero into space down the right. Oliviero crosses low, but there’s nobody in green up with play. England clear, but Clinton ships possession cheaply, and Oliviero has another go at crossing from the right. Hampton claims.
ET 25 min: … Agyemang handles. The pressure off Italy. Giuliani does not rush to restart the game.
ET 24 min: Kelly advances down the right and checks back, whipping a cross into the mixer. Linari clears. But Kelly comes again, down the same flank, and wins a corner this time. From which …
ET 22 min: Bronze crosses from the right. Now it’s Giuliani’s turn to pluck the ball from the sky. Both keepers were looking for team-mates making quick breaks upfield, but everyone’s too tired.
ET 21 min: Caruso floats the free kick into the box. Hampton comes off her line to claim.
ET 20 min: No quarter asked or given at the moment. Every ball fiercely contested. Too fiercely by Bronze in this instance, as she shoves Severini in the back. A free kick, 25 yards out, just right of centre.
ET 18 min: Kelly robs Caruso down the right and crosses. Agyemang lurks but Salvai eyebrows away just in time. England come again, Hemp winning a corner down the left. Kelly floats it long, and it’s heading into the top right. Giuliani claws it out, another fine save at this Championship. Nothing comes of the next corner.
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ET 16 min: Oliviero and Mead tussle down the England left, and fall over. It’s one of those 50-50 challenges that could go either way, but England get the call. Kelly launches the free kick into the mixer, but Bronze can’t meet it at the far stick, and it’s a goal kick.
Italy get the second period of extra time underway. England have made a change, sending on Clinton for Walsh. “We are watching (on Rai1) in our hotel room in Naples,” reports Sarah Godfrey. “They seem to care so little for women’s football here that we haven’t found a single bar showing the match, even though it’s on terrestrial TV. We’ve drunk the half bottle of wine from the minibar, the hotel bar closes in 20 minutes and the only room service offering is a €50 bottle of Prosecco. But after watching the quarter-final shootout on BBC iPlayer in a bar in Pompeii, we are all in for as far as this goes. Forza Inghilterra!”
EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: England 1-1 Italy
The whistle goes, and everyone can take a breather.
ET 14 min: Greggi wriggles clear of Kelly and Mead, but loses control on the edge of the England box. Mead launches long for Agyemang, who can’t quite get the better of Linari. The game’s suddenly stretched, with everyone looking leggy.
ET 12 min: Linari sticks to Agyemang like glue. Agyemang goes over and wants a free kick, but the ref’s never likely to give it for a 50-50 grapple. This is becoming scrappy. Nobody wants to make the big error.
ET 10 min: Agyemang is full of youthful energy. On top of that, she’ll be buzzing after those absurd heroics. She nearly closes Giuliani down, but the keeper lashes clear just in time.
ET 8 min: Kelly hip-shakes in from the right flank, bamboozling three defenders before entering the box and aiming a curler towards the top left. She gets the shot all wrong, and it’s a goal kick, but what a mesmerising run that was. Had she put the finishing touches to it, she’d have scored a goal for the ages.
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ET 7 min: Greggi cuts in from the left and aims a curler towards the top right. Fine idea, but there’s not enough power or whip on the shot. Hampton collects with ease.
ET 5 min: Tonne crosses from the left. Giuliani spills the ball at her near post. The ball ricochets off Piga and heads towards the bottom left, with the keeper prone, but Piga does well to react, swivel and hook the ball off the line and away. An own goal there would have been a cruel farce.
ET 4 min: Caruso looks to have been upended out on the Italy right, but they don’t get the chance of pumping a free kick into the box. The referee waves play on. Italy not best pleased.
ET 2 min: Hemp has been busy all evening, and makes her nth run down the left. She finds Beever-Jones with her cross, but Beever-Jones can’t control and eventually concedes a foul.
England get the first half of extra time started. Kelly’s boot accidentally connects with Di Guglielmo’s face, and the game stops as soon as it starts. Thankfully Di Guglielmo is back up and running again soon enough.
England looked absolutely done when Chloe Kelly sent that corner into the side netting. But now look! Laura Giuliani failed to deal with a cross from the right, spilling it at the feet of Michelle Agyemang. The 19-year-old still had work to do, but one touch, one shot, bang! England have saved themselves dramatically once again. They left it really late this time. A penny for Emma Severini’s thoughts, though, after that egregious miss from four yards that would have made it 0-2 and surely put Italy in the final. The small margins, at both ends!
FULL TIME: England 1-1 Italy
Michelle Agyemang does it again! We’re heading to extra time. Penalties again, maybe.
90 min +8: Hemp crosses from the left. The ball nearly loops to Agyemang, but Severini heads clear just in time. Then Bronze crosses from the right, only for Beever-Jones to head wide left. England unbelievably pressing for the winner!
90 min +7: Wild scenes at the Stade de Genève! Agyemang disappears under a delighted pile! Italy were so close. Emma Severini’s miss so costly now.
GOAL! England 1-1 Italy (Agyemang 90+6)
With time running out, Agyemang does it again for England! Pinball in the box. Again. Kelly crosses. The keeper spills. The ball drops to Agyemang, who takes a touch before whistling a low drive through Giuliani and in!
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90 min +5: Italy are sitting back in their low block. No way through. But then …
90 min +4: Kelly very nearly breaks clear down the left but Piga refuses to budge. She half clears. Walsh shoots. Deflected. Corner. Kelly slaps the set piece into the side netting. What a waste. Italy are hanging on a bit here, with England in Kitchen Sink mode.
90 min +2: Morgan and Cambiaghi are booked for a set-to in the centre circle. Then Oliviero battles down the right before larruping an overly ambitious effort over the bar from distance.
90 min +1: Piga has come on for Lenzini. Kelly wins a corner off her, but Giuliani claims it comfortably.
90 min: There will be seven additional minutes.
89 min: Before it can be taken, Greggi is sent on for Giugliano. Italy then deal with the set piece without too much fuss.
88 min: Hemp is about to tear into space down the right. Linari comes across and cleans her out, taking a booking for the team. But this is a free kick and a chance to send the ball into the Italy box.
86 min: A speculative ball down the Italian right. Cambiaghi doesn’t give it up, and wins a priceless corner off Greenwood. She had no right to get to that ball. What a chase. Italy don’t rush to take the corner. But when they do, Salvai takes a swipe from six yards. It drops to Severini, who has to score, a couple of yards out, but somehow slams her shot straight at Hampton! What a miss! A huge chance to seal Italy’s progress to the final wasted.
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85 min: England’s last roll of the dice. Russo and Williamson make way for Beever-Jones and Agyemang.
83 min: Oliviero crosses for Piemonte, who can’t quite meet with a header 12 yards out. Greenwood had a hold of her shirt there, and had the Italian decided to go down, the referee might have had a decision to make. It’d have been soft, but Greenwood was taking a bit of a risk there. Anyway, it’s a goal kick.
81 min: Kelly’s corner from the right is hit long. Bronze meets it again, from the other side. The ball’s heading towards the top-right corner, but Di Guglielmo clears off the line. Giuliani eventually claims the ball. England asking some questions finally.
80 min: Kelly dances in from the right and whips in a cross that gets deflected out for a corner. She takes it herself, sending it long from the left. Bronze, coming in from the other flank, powers a downward header goalward but Lenzini blocks and clears.
78 min: Italy launch a four-on-three counter. Caruso crosses from the right. Piemonte flicks a header over the bar. England were very fortunate that Italy took quite a while to work out what they should do.
77 min: Chloe Kelly, who did so much to turn things around against Sweden, replaces Stanway.
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76 min: Bronze fizzes in a low cross from the right. Hemp tries to control on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Russo can’t prod the loose ball home as it pinballs around. Italy hack clear. Then up the other end, Caruso goes romping off down the right, and attempts to lob over Hampton, who is on walkabout, from 40 yards. Her shot sails harmlessly wide left.
74 min: Giuliani is booked for taking her sweet time over the resulting goal kick. Then her coach Andrea Soncin goes into the book as well, for telling the fourth official how he sees it.
73 min: Italy make a double change, replacing Bonansea and Cantore with Severini and Cambiaghi. When play restarts, Stanway lashes a wild shot over the bar from distance.
72 min: Bronze bustles down the right but a heavy touch puts a stop to her run. “Chloe Kelly time?” wonders Pete Mumola. “She seemed to make quite the impact last time out, and they desperately need at least one goal.”
70 min: Toone sends a weak effort wide left. England still not putting Giuliani to serious work.
69 min: Greenwood probes down the left but Oliviero comes across to usher the ball out for a goal kick. Greenwood, frustrated, knocks her over. Another excuse to go down and eat up a few seconds. “England are piling on the pressure but Italy look more clinical (and technically more proficent) when it counts,” argues Colum Fordham. “Impressed by Girelli, Buoninsea and Cantore. The England coach should be concerned. The finishing is not up to the mark. Hemp should have done far better with her free header.”
67 min: Mead is really lively, though. She makes off down the right again and crosses low in the hope of finding Russo. Giuliani smothers.
66 min: Mead skittles Di Guglielmo out on the right. A pointless foul, and another opportunity for Italy to break up England’s rhythm and run down some time.
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65 min: Mead cuts back from the right of Italy’s goal. Greenwood has a crack. Parried. Walsh flays over the bar. Then the flag goes up anyway, because the ball had gone out of play for a goal kick before Mead was able to pull it back.
64 min: A tearful Girelli is forced to give way. Piemonte comes on in her place. Girelli’s holding the back of her leg, so that doesn’t look the result of Williamson’s clip. A hammy by the looks of it.
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63 min: Williamson clips Girelli’s ankle. The Italy captain has taken a proper whack there. On comes the trainer.
61 min: Toone crosses from the right. Williamson competes for a header. She claims to have been impeded by Oliviero, but she’s not getting a penalty for a light shove in the back. The ball falls to Hemp, who hesitates, allowing Oliviero to batter clear. Still more than half an hour to go, and yet the tension-o-meter at the Stade de Genève already registers 11.
59 min: England corner on the right. Greenwood waves her arms to conduct the crowd before she takes it. Bedlam, bedlam, bedlam. But her delivery isn’t as good as her conducting of the choir. Straight into the arms of Giuliani, who then goes down having been clipped. A chance for Italy to have a breather.
57 min: Girelli has the opportunity to release Di Guglielmo into acres down the left, but Bronze crucially intercepts. Then up the other end, Stanway has a snapshot blocked. There’s a second goal coming, you can feel it. But who for?
56 min: Walsh purchases a ticket to the raffle from 25 yards. It flies harmlessly wide left. Giuliani had it covered anyway.
55 min: On the touchline, Sarina Wiegman looks concerned. Her team have definitely picked up the pace, but they’ve still not put Laura Giuliani in the Italy goal to serious work.
53 min: Walsh sashays her way past three challenges, a wonderful dribble down the middle. She can’t get a shot away, a shame because the build-up deserved a spectacular finish. But England keep Italy pinned back, and the ball falls to Hemp on the penalty spot. She aims a side-footer towards the bottom right, but slaps the shot straight at the keeper. Italy then break, Cantore tearing clear down the right and entering the box, before slamming a shot of her own straight at Hampton. Could have been 1-1, could have been 0-2. We’re at that stage of the game.
51 min: Toone worms her way down the right and crosses long for Hemp, free on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Hemp tries to cushion a header over Giuliani from a tight-ish angle, but can only land the ball on the roof of the net. Still, that’s better from England.
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49 min: Greenwood meets a dropping ball to the left of the Italy D. She takes a first-time swipe, but skies the shot and Giuliani claims.
48 min: Bonansea steals the ball off Walsh, who is fortunate the Italian goalscorer decides to slow to walking pace, rather than steam into the box. A strange decision. She makes do with a throw, from which Di Guglielmo whips in a cross that Hampton smothers.
47 min: Hemp crosses low from the left but Mead can’t control on the edge of the box. Already it’s obvious that England have been ordered to pick up the tempo a bit.
England get the second half underway. They’ve made a change: Lauren James has picked up a knock, so she’s replaced by Beth Mead.
Half-time postbag. “England are making a habit of conceding first-half goals. Feels almost like they haven’t had the confidence in their ability to take on the Italians - rushed passes and loose play, breaking up the play and favouring Italy. Again the absence of Millie Bright is obvious - even Leah Williamson looks a little like she’s carrying something. Big big big half for Serena!” – Samuel Dodson
“As the Dalai Lama said, there are no problems, only solutions. Or did he ? Whatever, England need some solutions here, and for me the firestone would be to controversially pull Lauren James and put someone on who will actually run, chase, harry, pass, and maybe even assist or do a goal. We can all see that she’s an immense talent, but maybe one for the future. We need something NOW! We need Kelly’s heroes and we need them now. Not at 70 mins and then extra time, pens...” – Jeremy Boyce
“Can the Lionesses not only beat Italy, but also beat the curse of ITV, something that appears to have moved from the men to the women, meaning they never win when shown on ITV?” – Andy Bradshaw
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Half-time advertising break. Sign up now for Moving the Goalposts, our free women’s football email. Here’s today’s dispatch, in which Júlia Belas Trindade explains why organisers have plenty of work to do ahead of the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
HALF TIME: England 0-1 Italy
For the third time in five matches, England are behind at the break.
45 min: Greenwood fails to deal with a simple bouncing ball and for a second lets Cantore spin her and stride clear in the box. Greenwood does extremely well to get back and stop Cantore getting a shot away, at the expense of a corner, which Hampton punches clear. Yep, England need to hear that whistle.
44 min: Cantore crosses from the right. Bronze heads clear from a crowded box. England suddenly look like a team who could do with hearing the half-time whistle.
43 min: Bronze competes for a loose ball behind Girelli. She extends a leg around her opponent and catches her in the chest. Again she avoids a yellow card. The referee’s done her a couple of favours tonight.
42 min: Bronze drives down the left and hits a speculative cross-cum-shot that sails inches over the bar. Giuliani had that one covered, though.
41 min: Hemp probes down the left and doubles back, before whipping a low curler along the corridor of uncertainty. It evades everyone, and nearly creeps into the bottom right corner. Just wide. Giuliani had stretched every fingertip to try to reach that. England want a corner but they’re not getting one.
39 min: Hemp advances down the inside left and sends a diagonal pass to James, coming in from the other flank. James takes a touch and reaches the D, opting to pass the ball towards the bottom right instead of blootering it. That allows Giuliani to turn the shot away. A good save, but one she probably shouldn’t have been allowed to make. If James had a chance to do it all over again, a fair chance she’d be putting her laces through that.
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37 min: Girelli wins Italy’s first corner of the game down the left. It’s sent long by Giugliano. Di Guglielmo wins a header at the far post, but Williamson is on point to block and clear. Italy suddenly look much more confident. What a goal can do.
35 min: Bronze should really have cleared that cross. She certainly shouldn’t have let the ball get through to Bonansea. And she should arguably have got closer to her opponent before she shot as well. England try to respond immediately, Toone making off down the right and looking for James in the middle. But her cross is cleared.
GOAL! England 0-1 Italy (Bonansea 33)
Lenzini and Cantore combine down the right flank, the latter spinning away from Greenwood on the touchline. A cross is looped into the middle. Girelli sticks out a leg but can’t connect. Bronze, discombobulated, six yards out, fails to control or clear. Bonansea takes a touch on the edge of the six-yard box, before roofing past Hampton from close range. Easy as that for Italy; it’s another disappointing defensive display from England, though.
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31 min: Hemp advances down the left and hooks back in the hope of finding Russo in the middle. Thankfully that doesn’t happen, and Oliveiro is able to intercept and win a free kick. Thankfully because the ball had hit the referee earlier in the move, and dropped to England, who set off on the attack. For some reason the referee half-raised her whistle to her mouth, but then thought twice about stopping the play. That would have been a controversial one had England scored off that move.
30 min: Russo tries to release Hemp, flicking on a long ball down the middle. Too much on the header. This has suddenly become a bit scrappy.
28 min: The pace drops a little. Girelli tries to release Caruso down the left with a cheeky flick, but gets it all wrong. Throw. “The Italians must try to get some offensive push,” suggests Mary Waltz. “Russo should have scored and if they continue this pressure surely a Lionesses goal is forthcoming soon.”
26 min: Bonansea clatters into Stanway, and becomes the latest player to be slightly fortunate not to go into the book. The Croatian referee Ivana Martinčić in an easy-going mood so far.
25 min: … and Italy counter. Lenzini makes good down the right and she’s got options in the box, but balloons her cross out for a goal kick.
24 min: … and here she is again, winning the first corner of the game down the right. Greenwood swings it in dangerously, but it doesn’t fall to a black shirt in the six-yard box. Italy clear.
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23 min: James gets persistent down the right. She’s forced to turn tail on a couple of dribbles, but refuses to stop probing, and eventually works herself enough space to cross long for Hemp, who eyebrows out for a goal kick. That’s fine work from the ever-excellent James.
21 min: Linari pings a long pass down the inside-left channel for Bonansea, who flicks on for Girelli. England’s defence is split, and they’re fortunate Cantore comes across and all the Italians get in each other’s way. Had Girelli been left to get on with it, England were in all sorts.
19 min: England stroke the ball around patiently. Italy made to chase. Then suddenly England pick up the pace. A ball swung in from the left by Stanway. It drops to Russo on the penalty spot. Her back to goal, she spins round and whistles a low drive inches wide of the bottom right. Not sure Giuliani was getting to that, had it been on target.
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17 min: Toone, Stanway and Hemp combine well down the left, the latter sending a cross over a near-empty Italian box. Only Russo had kept up with play. A disappointing end to a flowing move.
15 min: Bonansea makes good down the Italian left only to loop a cross over everyone’s head. The first serious sortie into English territory by Italy.
14 min: Caruso drops a shoulder in the hope of getting past Stanway, only to be crudely checked by the England midfielder. The referee might run out of patience with England if there’s a third aggressive whack to come soon.
13 min: A dispatch from our man Tom Garry in Geneva. “I was lucky to be in this stadium for Italy’s quarter-final last week and, on that night, their fans were in the majority, vastly outnumbering the Norwegians. Tonight, in contrast, the Italians are in the minority, with white and red flags dominating and the England fans making almost all the noise.”
11 min: Space for Hemp down the left. She reaches the byline and cuts back for James, who takes a first-time flick goalwards. Italy are very fortunate that it flies straight at Giuliani, who snaffles. The first proper chance of the match.
9 min: Bronze gets a bit too eager, sliding in strongly on Bonansea. Very late, studs withdrawn just in time. Just a free kick and a strongly-worded lecture from the referee. Bronze is fortunate not to go into the book.
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8 min: Italy are being penned back in their final third. Linari tries to move them upfield with a long ball down the left, but Russo gets right up in her grille to put a stop to that. The champions imposing themselves.
6 min: England are expected to have the bulk of possession tonight, and these opening exchanges reflect that. Bronze, Hemp and Toone all buzzing around a lot. The Italian defence not being given a moment. Stanway latches onto a poor pass out from the back but can’t do anything with it.
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4 min: Greenwood goes long down the left, hoping to find Hemp, but overcooks the pass. A brisk start by the defending champions, though.
2 min: England are on the front foot early, Toone swinging a cross in from the left. Bronze competes in the hope of winning a header but Lenzini wins that particular duel.
1 min: England’s bench lined up along the touchline at kick-off in a sign of solidarity with Jess Carter, and to take a stand against bigotry.
Italy get the semi-final underway. “Esme Morgan in for Jess Carter; fine, makes sense,” begins Charles Antaki. “I hope she has a terrific game, and then for whatever reason (barring serious injury) happily goes off and Carter comes on and plays an absolute match-winning blinder for the rest of the game. It won’t put an end to the unpleasantness she’s had to face, but it may tone it down a bit.”
The teams are out! England in black, Italy green, the atmosphere at the Stade de Genève electric. The first semi-final will get underway once pennants have been exchanged and national anthems sung. Speaking of which, here’s a fun fact: if you play God Save The King and Il Canto degli Italiani at the same time, this piece of magic comes out …
… but make sure you start them both at exactly the same time, because it’s all too easy to get this sort of thing dreadfully out of whack.
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You could argue that Italy are betting with house money tonight. According to our pre-tournament preview, their realistic aim was to “reach the knockout stage and if they succeed they will look to make their mark among Europe’s elite”, so in that respect all of their goals have already been met. England, as defending champions and second favourites, don’t have that free-hit luxury. “I suspect we’ll have some sort of an idea of what kind of evening we’re in for after about 62 seconds,” writes Adam K. “I’m hoping England are switched on from the start this time.”
If England are to progress, they’ll need to keep tabs on Cristiana Girelli. The veteran striker has scored 61 goals for her country in 122 appearances, the last two coming last Wednesday to secure victory against Norway. Sophie Downey profiles Le Azzurre’s talisman.
England pushed their luck against Sweden last week, and might not get away with a similar display tonight. Here’s Tom Garry on the ways in which they must improve if they’re to reach a final against either Spain or Germany.
The rest of Sarina Wiegman’s pre-match interview with ITV. “It’s a huge night for everyone … Esme Morgan is ready, she has been ready for a while … she had to wait for that … she showed that the other night … I hope she will do really well … we are going to do our very best to play at our best … let’s see what it brings us … we want to take our game to the next level … we have different challenges … Italy will challenge us again … they have played in different shapes … they are tactical … adapt to what the opponent does … I hope we have the ball a lot and dominate the game … we want to win … at the end it doesn’t matter how but after 90 minutes would be nice.”
Sarina Wiegman is asked by ITV about her decision to replace Jess Carter in defence with Esme Morgan. “The decision is based on the tactical challenges we have, and we think that in this game, it is best to put Esme in. Jess is good. Of course a lot of things going on, but she’s good, she trained well, she is ready to compete and ready to play.”
Both teams make one change to their starting line-up from the quarter-finals. England replace Jess Carter with Esme Morgan, while Italy switch out midfielder Emma Severini for an extra defender in Martina Lenzini. England captain Leah Williamson is good to go despite the ankle problem that required her to wear a protective boot after the Sweden game.
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The teams
England: Hampton, Bronze, Williamson, Morgan, Greenwood, Toone, Walsh, Stanway, James, Russo, Hemp.
Subs: Moorhouse, Charles, Mead, Le Tissier, Clinton, Carter, Agyemang, Kelly, Beever-Jones, Park, Wubben-Moy, Keating.
Italy: Giuliani, Lenzini, Salvai, Linari, Di Guglielmo, Caruso, Giugliano, Bonansea, Oliviero, Girelli, Cantore.
Subs: Baldi, Schatzer, Severini, Piemonte, Piga, Bergamaschi, Serturini, Goldoni, Boattin, Greggi, Cambiaghi, Durante.
Referee: Ivana Martincic (Croatia).
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The kits. Neither side will wear their first-choice clobber tonight. England eschew their traditional white; hear the roar of the red, black, purple and two different shades of blue. This time, more than any other time. Italy meanwhile will wear green, which makes more sense than the traditional Savoy azure, given their flag, but that ship’s long sailed. Italy wearing adidas is just plain wrong, though. Diadora, yes, Kappa, yes, Le Coq Sportif, yes, even Puma at a push. But adidas? Nein! (And as for Nike getting the Germany gig …)
Tonight’s teams reached the semi-final in exactly the same manner: by doing a number on some Scandinavian dark horses. Relive every dramatic moment of those noir thrillers here.
Preamble
England haven’t brought their best stuff to Euro 2025 yet. Beaten by France, outplayed by Sweden, fortunate to get away with a few missed penalties … and yet here the Lionesses are, in the semi-finals, one step away from the big one. The reigning champions and World Cup finalists have tournament smarts, talent and determination to spare, so if they finally click into gear, well, Europe watch out.
They’ve got a good record against Italy, winning their last two matches against Le Azzurre to the cumulative score of 7-2. So Sarina Wiegman’s women go into this match as favourites. But Italy are on a high, having reached this stage for the first time since 1997, seeing off a very good Norway team, and Wiegman isn’t taking anything for granted. “We will have to be at our very, very best to win,” she says. Kick-off in Geneva is at 8pm UK time. It’s on!
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