England take on Italy tonight for a spot in the Euro 2025 final, as the Lionesses edge closer to defending their European Championship crown.
The journey to the last-four has been very nervy, after they lost their opening game to France, finished second in their group, and staged a stunning comeback against Sweden in the quarter-finals.
A shockingly bad first-half saw the Lionesses go into the break 2-0 down but a quick-fire double from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang levelled the game before Hannah Hampton’s heroics helped them advance on penalties.
Sarina Wiegman now has a number of difficult decisions to make before the semi-final in Geneva, including whether to drop several underperforming stars and switch up the tactics against an impressive Italy side.
We take a look at what changes the Lionesses manager could make for England’s huge clash tonight:
Start the ‘finishers’
Having named the same starting XI for the last three games, Wiegman is unlikely to make sweeping changes to her team, even after several disaster-classes against Sweden.
The defence was error-prone with Jess Carter, Alex Greenwood and Keira Walsh enduring a torrid time, while Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone and Lauren James failed to make much of an impact.
There are also question marks over the fitness of captain Leah Williamson after she injured her ankle in the last match, though the centre-back did return to training on Monday.
‘Everyone is fit,’ Wiegman said in her pre-match press conference. ‘Leah really wants to play, she did everything to recover as good as possible, and she has. If she recovers well she can play.’
If a change at the back is needed, Esme Morgan is more than capable of stepping up to the plate, while there is much clamour for Maya Le Tissier to get a run out.
Wiegman prefers to use the term ‘finishers’ rather than ‘substitutes’ and those who have come off the bench this tournament have looked sharp, especially newcomer Michelle Agyemang.
The 19-year-old scored the equaliser against Sweden and now has two goals in just three caps. She’s raw but maybe that’s what the Lionesses need right now.
And of course there’s Chloe Kelly, who came off the bench to score the winner in the Euro 2022 final and is still being used as an impact sub (sorry, finisher). Maybe it’s time the forward is given a chance from the start.
Change the formation
If the personnel won’t change, perhaps the formation will.
The 4-3-3 shape hasn’t looked all that convincing, with the opposition knowing that if they can target and pressurise midfield anchor Walsh, they have a way through to goal.
A switch to 3-5-2, as seen at the 2023 World Cup, may help remedy that, with an extra body at the back relieving the pressure on Walsh and the back-line.
It should also allow quarter-final hero Lucy Bronze more opportunity to maraud forward and create chances for herself and others.
The change would likely require sacrificing either Lauren Hemp, James or even Toone for left-wingback Niamh Charles, but it would also see England match up against Italy who notably play with a back-three formation.
Practice penalties
The penalty shootout between England and Sweden was exhaustingly nerve-wracking for supporters. For the neutral, it was utterly hilarious and not in a good way.
14 penalties taken, five found the back of the net. Some credit must be given to goalkeepers Hannah Hampton and Jennifer Falk, but it speaks to a larger trend at Euro 2025.
Just 24 of the 41 spot-kicks at the tournament have been scored, a conversion rate of only 58.5 per cent.
Safe to say, Wiegman needs to have scheduled some extra penalty drills in training, especially as Falk dived the right way for five of England’s seven spot-kicks.
And with the experienced James, Mead and Greenwood all having their efforts saved, a shake-up of the order may also be required.
Alternatively, just win the game in 90 minutes and save everyone a lot of stress. Easier said than done of course…
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