England's penalty practice plans after Sweden drama revealed by Sarina Wiegman
England are ready for another penalty shoot-out against Italy on Tuesday - but manager Sarina Wiegman still hopes it doesn't come to that. The Lionesses fought back from 2-0 down to force spot-kicks against Sweden in the quarter-finals, scoring with just three of their seven efforts but still going through.
'"We practice for hours and hours!,' Wiegman joked in her pre-match press conference before recognising things could go right to the wire once again. 'Over the last months players train for penalties all the time, also at their clubs, you want to be as prepared as possible,' she added
"Hopefully it's not necessary. We have practiced again."
Italy boss Andrea Soncin suggested nothing can compare to the pressure of taking a spot-kick in a full stadium during a knockout tie. 'I don't believe there's a specific way to train the penalty in a training session because there's the emotional aspect and physical aspect coming into play,' Soncin said
'Especially the emotional aspect which is not the same in a training session. 'Of course we try to train the penalties and believe anything can happen, of course it's something we work on.'
England's substitutes played a vital role in the quarter-final triumph over Sweden, with Michelle Agyemang coming off the bench to equalise and Chloe Kelly having a part in both goals. Wiegman has been given a potential selection headache, but trusts her 'finishers' regardless of when they enter the fray.
"I think she was sharp, I think all the substitutes who came on were really sharp and did their job," WIegman said of Kelly. "It was a hard fight but we got through."
In the build-up to the game, England announced they would not be taking the knee ahead of the semi-final as they demand more steps are taken in the light of defender Jess Carter receiving racial abuse online. 'It's just to change it up,' midfielder Georgia Stanway said.
'We felt like the knee was just a little bit repetitive, we felt like it's come to a point where the knee isn't doing what we wanted it to do, so now our decision is to stand and hopefully that will bring up more conversation, more change and hopefully get the topic [spoken about].':
Italy defender Cecilia Salvai said she and her team-mates would come together to discuss how they could show their solidarity towards Carter, while manager Soncin reinforced the squad's support for England and Gotam defender Carter. "Of course there is the greatest of solidarity to her and towards anyone suffering violence and abuse. It should not be tolerated," Soncin said.
"We have a responsibility with the position we are in to send the right messages, we need to give education messages, including to children, it is a cultural campaign, a cultural battle. I don't know if getting on the knee is enough, but we are ready to take part in any campaign to help this."
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