After clawing their way back from the brink of elimination in a thrilling quarterfinal against Sweden, defending champions England will aim to justify their status as tournament favorites when they take on Italy in the Women’s Euro 2025 semifinal Tuesday in Geneva.
The Lionesses are one step away from a second straight major final under Sarina Wiegman, with either Germany or reigning world champion Spain awaiting in Sunday’s title clash.
Their road to the semis was anything but smooth. Trailing 2-0 late in Zurich, England staged a stunning comeback – scoring twice in three minutes to force extra time – before edging Sweden 3-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Now in their sixth consecutive semifinal across the Euros and World Cups, England are expected to advance past the Azzurre and move within reach of retaining their crown.
Ranked 13th in the world, the Italians are surprise semifinalists, while England are where they were expected to be as they look to repeat their triumph at the last Euros on home soil in 2022.
“I really had a sense throughout the game, even when we were down, that it wasn’t our time to go,” defender Esme Morgan told English media over the weekend as she reflected on the unlikely comeback against Sweden.
“I thought about three times we were out,” admitted Wiegman, who remains on course to win a third consecutive Women’s Euro – having guided her native Netherlands to victory on home soil in 2017 before triumphing with England three years ago.
England have been exposed against top-level opposition at this European Championship, having been defeated by France in their opening group game before being torn apart in the first half against Sweden.
But the nature of their recovery in the latter match – inspired by substitutes Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly – will give them confidence, as will their recent record against Italy.
Carter suffers racist abuse
England won 5-1 when the nations last met in a friendly in Spain in February last year, and were 2-1 victors a year earlier in the Arnold Clark Cup in Coventry.
Italy finished second in their group behind Spain but then got the better of Norway in the quarterfinals, with veteran Cristiana Girelli scoring twice – including a last-minute winner.
Now they are in the semifinals of a major tournament for the first time since the 1997 Euros.
“It’s exciting because we are going to face the reigning champions,” defender Martina Lenzini said at the Italian team’s base near Lucerne.
“Getting to the semifinals for us is a result in itself, a bit unexpected in the eyes of others and by everyone around us, but we believed we could do this.
“We are always humble, but we were aware that we could get to this stage and have the chance to face a team of this caliber.”
The holders’ preparations for the match were rocked by revelations that defender Jess Carter had been the victim of racist abuse, prompting the English FA to alert police.
“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” Carter, who has 49 caps, wrote on her social media accounts.
“Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s OK to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Meanwhile, England have been hoping that captain Leah Williamson will be fit in time to feature after being forced off with an ankle injury against Sweden. Her fellow defender Morgan said over the weekend the team were “very optimistic that Leah will be fine.”
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