England face a tough task when they encounter Italy in their European Championship semi-final in Geneva, even though they are clear favourites to reach Sunday’s final.
The defending champions cannot afford to be complacent against the Azzurre and must not display the lack of concentration which left them on the brink of elimination in last Thursday’s rollercoaster quarter-final against Sweden.
Trailing 2-0 with just 11 minutes remaining on the clock, substitute Chloe Kelly provided two exceptional crosses into the mix for Lucy Bronze to head Sarina Wiegman’s side back into the match and then for Michelle Agyemang, a ball girl when England beat Germany in the 2022 final at Wembley, to calmly tap in the equaliser less than two minutes later, with a bit of help from Beth Mead.
The wild penalty shoot-out which followed extra-time has already entered the annals of the beautiful game’s history as one of those occasions which will never be forgotten, and the Lionesses must now ensure they profit from their resolute tenacity by reaching their third straight major final.
The chances are they will meet Spain in the showpiece conclusion to a gripping tournament, giving them the chance for revenge against the side which beat them in the decider at the last World Cup in Sydney, but it would be a big setback if they missed that opportunity by losing their battle in the last four.
Italy have progressed to this stage by finishing second to Spain in the group stage before squeaking past Norway 2-1 in the quarters.
Cristiana Girelli produced a captain’s performance by putting them ahead in the 50th minute then heading her side into their first semi-final at the Euros since 1997 moments before the final whistle.
Italy created enough chances to tie the game up in the first 45 minutes and may not be as lax in the danger areas if they find England are not at their sharpest and will relish their tag as underdogs.
They did, however, benefit from Norway captain Ada Hegerberg missing her second penalty of the tournament at a crucial moment in the second half and the Lionesses will be triumphant if they are fully focused for 90 minutes plus injury-time.
Lionesses semi-final odds
Lauren James was unable to land our bets on her to open the scoring or hit the net at any time against Sweden but we will double down on the Chelsea star achieving both goals, pun fully intended, at 11/2 with bet365, Betway, Sporting Index and SpreadEx and at 7/4 with the latter two firms respectively while Girelli is 10/3 with Ladbrokes and Coral to reply for Italy.
A 3-1 win for the Lionesses is 12/1 with William Hill with England to win and both teams to score 11/5 with bet365.
Transfer odds: Kalvin Phillips’ next club
Kalvin Phillips is heading for the Manchester City exit but a return to former club Leeds United is not a certainty despite the Whites being 1/3 favourites to sign him with William Hill.
The England international is obviously keen to return to Elland Road having liked a social media post from former team-mate Patrick Bamford and another about the Yorkshire club extending their deal with Dan James.
However, manager Daniel Farke may be reluctant to bring in a player with a concerning injury record when all hands will be needed on deck for the entirety of their first campaign back in the Premier League.
Burnley may try to reunite Phillips with his former Etihad Stadium buddy Kyle Walker and are 8/1 with Hills to sign Phillips while Everton could use him to strengthen their engine room at 9/1 with the same firm.
Darts odds
Defending champion and world No.1 Luke Humphries is out of the World Matchplay at Blackpool after suffering a shock 10-8 defeat to Gian van Veen of the Netherlands, in the opening round and the 23-year-old world youth title holder can reach the third round by beating Danny Noppert by more than 2.5 legs at 5/4 with Paddy Power, Betway and Betfair.