England aim to solve 'wobbles' in semi-final, and what to expect from Italy

BBC News

6 days ago

England's preparations for their Euro 2025 semi-final with Italy on Tuesday have been overshadowed by the racial abuse suffered by defender Jess Carter.Players have had to rally around Carter to offer support, while ensuring they remain focused on their attempts to defend their European title.Having endured a difficult few days, whether Carter will start is among the decisions Wiegman will have to consider as England seek to reach a third successive major tournament final.But can Italy upset the defending champions and have England sorted out their defensive issues?
Will Wiegman mix up the defence?
A recurring theme of England's tournament has been the weaknesses exposed in defence, with France and Sweden's pace causing them problems.Carter has switched positions on three occasions - playing as a right-sided centre-back, a left-sided centre-back and a left-back to try to solve the issue.Alex Greenwood has also switched from centre-back to full-back, while defender Esme Morgan impressed when she came off the bench in the win over Sweden.Wiegman has a selection headache with Morgan pushing for a starting place, and she might also choose to protect Carter following the racial abuse. "Although it's a hard situation, Jess is a very strong person and wants to move on. She also felt we had to address this. You can't just let it go," said Wiegman. "We know there's a match going on and we're ready to perform - she's ready to perform and to compete. That says a lot about her and the team."We have headaches all the time because a lot of players can play from the start. It's what makes the team so strong."There were also doubts over the availability of captain Leah Williamson after she was seen using crutches and wearing a protective boot on Thursday. But Wiegman confirmed Williamson has recovered from an ankle injury and she was in full training on Monday. "She really wants to play and she did everything to recover as quickly as possible - and she has. It means she is available," added Wiegman.England became the first team to progress from a knockout tie at the Euros having trailed by two goals in their win over Sweden.Meanwhile, Italy have opened the scoring in all four of their matches so far.So can England wipe away the cobwebs and produce a solid defensive display?"I'd like to think we've got all the wobbles out of the way," England forward Beth Mead told BBC Sport. "I think this is very much the business end of the tournament, we've got to be on it and we've got to be very much in the right headspace. We've got to play well in knockout football now."
'Complacency is the biggest mistake'
England have won seven of their last 10 games in all competitions against Italy and are playing in their seventh Euros semi-final.They have progressed from two of the last three, whereas opponents Italy, ranked 13th in the world, are in the semi-finals for the first time since 1997.It means England go into Tuesday's game as favourites - but Wiegman is wary of acknowledging that."It would be really disrespectful to think we are the favourites," she said. "They made the semi-final just like we did and that's very impressive for any team. Complacency is the biggest mistake you could make. "You have seen them, how they have played. I don't think there is any way we can think that we might be favourites. We have to be at our very best to win."Defender Alex Greenwood told BBC Radio 5 Live it has become an "expectation" that England reach at least the semi-finals."I think as a team now, we've set those standards to reach these levels. We're really proud of that achievement," she added.Mead said England "thrive under pressure", while Brighton midfielder Fran Kirby, who retired from international football before the tournament, admitted Italy are "definitely the underdogs"."I think everyone knows that from the outside," Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live."But on the flip side, Italy will have seen England's performances and think that there's an opportunity there as well because they know they can score goals. "[Hopefully] England play the way that we know they can play and really shut up shop defensively."
What challenge will Italy pose?
Though the top division of women's football in Italy was established in 1968, it's only in recent years that their domestic game turned fully professional.The national team have never dropped below 19th in Fifa's world rankings - but they failed to qualify for four successive World Cups between 2003 and 2015.So what kind of challenge will Italy pose England when they meet at 20:00 BST on Tuesday?"They have got a never-say-die attitude. They are a very aggressive, hard team to play against," said Mead. "They can be frustrating and they have individual quality."It's going to be a tough game and I know they're very much going to be up for it. They have something to prove, as do we. "We're defending champions but we've got to go out there and put the performance in. We've got to be at the races to beat this Italian team."In recent meetings, England have come out on top.Wiegman's side earned a 2-1 win in the Arnold Clark Cup in February 2023, before inflicting a 5-1 defeat in a friendly 12 months later. But in captain Cristiana Girelli, Italy have a player in form - the 35-year-old has netted three goals in the tournament so far."I think both teams will be confident going into the game for different reasons," added Kirby. "It's going to be really interesting, but I think England just need to tighten up a little bit. The Italian fans are also super passionate."
What are the pundits saying?
Former England captain Steph Houghton told BBC Radio 5 Live she is "really confident" they can reach a third successive major final."We can take really great confidence in how we came back against Sweden. It was more of a semi-final. It's an amazing opportunity for us," added Houghton.Kirby said England were "very expansive" against Sweden and they cannot afford to be the same against Italy."We were losing every second ball. Sweden killed us in the transition moments with their pace and Italy have quite a similar way of playing," added Kirby. "England really needs to focus on that side of the game against Italy. But I don't think Italy are as strong as Sweden."Ex-Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha believes England have shown they are capable of performing in the biggest moments."It's tough to not believe in them. They have done everything they have needed to get to this point," he said. "Against Sweden, we saw them suffer but they found a way and made Sweden really uncomfortable. "When you are a winner, why would you not take belief into the next game?"