There is a place in the Euro final at stake as England go into this match with grit and determination and have been dubbed the likely winners, but could Italy cause an upset?
On Sunday, the Lionesses announced that, as a result of racism directed at Jess Carter, they will no longer take the knee before kick-off and will not do so until something changes, as they believe it is not making an impact.
Cristiana Girelli becomes the oldest at the age of 35 years and 84 days to score more than one goal in a game.
Previous meetings
England are unbeaten in their last five matches against Italy, but all were friendlies. The most recent was a 5-1 victory in February 2024, where Lauren Hemp scored twice.
However, in the six competitive meetings, Italy has won five and drawn one, but their last competitive encounter was in the Euro 2009 group stage.
England
England are now in their sixth successive major semi-final; however, they have only made the final in the last two. Before that, they had fallen at this hurdle.
If England wants to reach their third straight final, it needs to make some defensive adjustments.
England will likely have more tired legs after getting back from trailing 2-0 to Sweden and taking them to penalties, as they become the first country ever to come from two goals down to win in a knockout Euros game. Also, they are the first title holder since 2013 to reach the semi-finals of the tournament after winning, following Germany.
Italy
After a shocking 90th-minute win over Norway, it was only their second major tournament knockout victory since the 1997 Women's Euro semi-final defeat of Spain.
This is their first semifinal in 28 years, and likely as the underdog, their mantra is ‘the best is still unwritten.’
Team news
England
There had been concern over Captain Leah Williamson's fitness after she was subbed off in extra time against Sweden and did not provide an update to the media, despite being seen with her foot in a boot.
She has since attended an opening training session in front of the media the day before the clash, taking part in the whole session, which will put fans' minds at ease knowing the captain is likely to be involved in the game.
England will need to make changes either in the starting XI or before the 70th minute, unlike against Sweden and Italy, which play a different structure to the teams England faced so far in the tournament.
England needs to make changes in the defence, possibly resting Jess Carter, who has found this Euros hard mentally and in her performance, with the possibility of Esme Morgan coming in instead, who came on against Sweden and put in a shift.
If there are concerns about Williamson's fitness, it might be an idea to either bring her on in the game or bring her off early for Nimal Charles, who has experience playing in those big matches, like FA Cup finals with Chelsea.
Although, unless players are physically unable to play, it is unlikely that Sarina Wiegman will make the changes she never does. She started the same starting XI for the whole of Euro 2022 and has only made one change this time around, so players like Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang are likely to come on as super subs.
England: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Toone, Walsh, Stanway; James, Russo, Hemp
Italy
As for Italy, Soncin could decide to switch from a back four to three central defenders for Tuesday’s semi-final clash.
That could lead to a recall for Martina Lenzini, while her Juventus teammate Lisa Boattin could return to feature as the left wing-back.
Girelli will continue to offer Italy’s main attacking threat, having scored three goals in four matches at the 2025 Women’s Euros.
Italy: Giuliani; Oliviero, Salvai, Linari, Di Guglielmo; Giugliano; Cantore, Caruso, Severini, Bonansea; Girelli
Quotes
Sarina Wiegman, England coach: "From the first minute, you want to play football better and [be] a little more balanced, but [against Sweden] we needed something else. Let's see what we need on Tuesday. We will start working on our plan against Italy, and hopefully we can keep it a little bit calmer."
Andrea Soncin, Italy coach: "We know England well. They have experience and preeminent tournaments, but they're not unbeatable. They have a team full of quality, especially in attack. We have the utmost respect for them, for what they've shown over the years and what they continue to show with so many talented players. But at the same time, we're fully aware of what we're building, our identity and our strengths. We want to keep chasing this dream and stay in it until the very end."
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