Euro 2025: How Italy could punish England in semi-final

England v Italy

Venue: Stade de Geneve, Geneva Date: Tuesday, 22 July Kick-off: 20:00 BST

Coverage: Live connected BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds, substance commentary and video highlights connected the BBC Sport website and app

Before the commencement of Euro 2025, Italy caput manager Andrea Soncin was asked astir his goalkeeper Laura Giuliani describing him arsenic a "dreamer".

"I similar the term," he said., external "While I'm precise applicable and grounded, I besides similar to dream. When I promote the girls to situation and bushed teams that they mightiness person thought unbeatable, it's due to the fact that I judge they can.

"I don't cognize wherever we'll extremity up successful this Euros but I'm definite we'll beryllium courageous and confident, and play each crippled to the champion of our abilities. Let's spot wherever that takes us."

So acold it has taken them to the semi-finals - the archetypal clip they person reached that signifier of the contention for 28 years - arsenic they person lived up to their pre-tournament statement of acheronian horses.

On Tuesday they volition look defending champions England arsenic they look to origin a large upset and unafraid a spot successful their archetypal last since 1997.

So who are their cardinal players and however tin they wounded the Lionesses successful Geneva?

At the bosom of Italy's awesome tally is their skipper Cristiana Girelli, who has scored 3 goals astatine this Euros, including a treble successful her side's 2-1 triumph implicit Norway successful the quarter-finals.

With 61 goals for her country, she sits 3rd connected their all-time scorers list, but her power runs acold deeper than numbers.

"She's truthful important," Italian shot adept Nicky Bandini tells BBC Sport. "She's perfectly iconic.

"Obviously, she's got a agelong past of doing this for the nationalist team. But she truly has taken connected that relation of being the person to the group, of being the 1 who has been determination and seen it each before.

"She's a calm beingness successful a squad not utilized to being successful these situations successful a large tournament.

"She's truly got that know-how, that quality to specify spaces that is truthful important for a centre-forward. She doesn't ever person 1 fixed spot connected the pitch. She sometimes plays the fig 10, she sometimes plays the fig nine.

"But much than that, she's been a figurehead for the group."

The 35-year-old Juventus striker has been ably assisted by her erstwhile nine team-mate Sofia Cantore, who acceptable up some her goals successful that quarter-final.

"She's had specified a beardown tournament, getting her transportation to Girelli from playing unneurotic astatine Juventus is conscionable truly important," says Bandini. "You saw that connected some goals against Norway - it's conscionable having idiosyncratic who knows however to look for Girelli successful those spaces."

Italy, who person not beaten England since 2012, appointed Soncin successful September 2023 contempt having lone ever worked successful men's football, yet helium has gradually won implicit his critics.

"There was a just spot of scepticism astir Soncin due to the fact that helium came successful arsenic idiosyncratic who lone had acquisition successful the men's crippled and who mostly coached astatine younker level," Bandini says.

"But helium has truly brought thing affirmative implicit the past mates of years and you tin spot that here.

"I felt similar coming into this tournament, the vigor astir the radical was much, overmuch amended than it had been astatine past tournaments."

And connected the transportation successful Switzerland the squad person delivered, finishing 2nd successful their radical down tourney favourites Spain with performances which person shown tactical flexibility and an quality to capitalise connected opponents' weaknesses.

"[Against England] it is going to beryllium a technically fascinating game," says Bandini. "I'm truly funny to spot however Italy attack it, due to the fact that 1 of the strengths of Italy, 1 of the strengths of the manager astatine this tournament, is that he's shown helium tin alteration things up."

Italy person switched formations depending connected the opposition, playing with a backmost 5 against the formidable Spain and a backmost 4 against Norway.

Against the Norwegians, it was a determination to people their weakness astatine full-back - a strategy that worked to perfection and could beryllium tested against the Lionesses too.

"When we speech astir England, we speech each the clip astir the left-back presumption being 1 large headache that's consistently travel up for Sarina Wiegman," Bandini says.

"Even erstwhile you look astatine the other side, Lucy Bronze likes to spell forward. That's portion of her game.

"So I tin precise overmuch spot the wide areas being a absorption successful this game. They truly are the spot of this Italy squad - the options they person determination are truly strong."

If Italy spell to a backmost three, Bandini expects the wing-backs - Lisa Boattin and Lucia di Guglielmo - to endanger England with their dribbling skills.

"Italy person truthful galore players who are assured moving with the ball," she adds.

While Italy reached the European Championship last successful 1993 and 1997, that was erstwhile the tourney had conscionable 4 and 8 teams respectively, and the country's enactment for women's shot has since lagged down different European nations.

It was lone aft the Azzurre's astonishment quarter-final tally astatine the 2019 World Cup that the Italian Football Federation pledged to marque the apical part nonrecreational by the 2022-23 season.

"Football is the archetypal nonrecreational women's squad athletics successful Italy, truthful that successful itself was a large measurement forward," says Bandini, who has an Italian begetter and English mother.

"It conscionable simply wasn't fixed the aforesaid taste absorption it was successful immoderate different countries astatine the aforesaid time."

Two clubs, Juventus and Roma, person led the mode successful presumption of prioritising the women's crippled and it shows some connected the transportation and successful the Italy squad. Against Norway successful the quarter-finals, 4 of Italy's outfield starters came from Juve, with 3 from Roma.

"These are players who are utilized to being together, moving unneurotic and knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses," says Bandini.

"This tourney is breaking caller ground. It's the archetypal clip the squad has been capable to bash it successful a bigger tournament."

Though Bandini believes England are beardown favourites to scope the last due to the fact that of their spot successful depth, she thinks Italy volition beryllium looking to pounce connected immoderate slip-ups.

"While England person had moments of weakness, Italy person played up to their imaginable passim this tournament," she says.

"They've shown that adjacent successful a crippled wherever they didn't spot overmuch of the shot against a technically superior Spain, they inactive looked similar they mightiness get a result.

"If England are careless, they are susceptible of taking advantage. Italy are susceptible of punishing a squad connected their day, and I deliberation if England are not astatine their best, they could beryllium punished."