‘Italy living up to potential – and could punish England’

Italy vs. England

Date: Tuesday, July 22 Kick-off: 20:00 BST

Andrea Soncin, Italy’s head coach, was questioned about his goalkeeper, Laura Giuliani, who referred to him as a “dreamer” before the start of Euro 2025.

He responded, “I like the term.” I enjoy dreaming as well, despite being very grounded and practical. Because I believe they can, I encourage the girls to take on and defeat teams that they might not otherwise be able to defeat.

“I’m not sure where we’ll end up in this Euros, but I’m certain that we’ll be brave, selfless, and will play every game to the best of our abilities.” Let’s see how that will lead us.

They have lived up to their pre-tournament label of dark horses, making it to the semi-finals for the first time in 28 years. This is the first time they have reached that stage of the competition.

In a bid to make it to their first final since 1997, they will face defending champions England on Tuesday.

She is third on their all-time scorers list, with 61 goals for her country, but much more than that, her influence is felt.

Nicky Bandini, an Italian football expert, tells BBC Sport, “She’s so important.” She is without a doubt a legend.

She has a long history of serving the nation’s athletes, she says. But she has actually accepted the leadership position of being the group’s leader and having witnessed it all before.

She appears composed in a team that is unfamiliar with playing in these kinds of circumstances at major tournaments.

She really has that understanding and ability to define spaces, which is crucial for a center-forward. She doesn’t always have a guaranteed spot on the pitch. She occasionally plays the number 10, and occasionally the number nine.

She has also served as a group figurehead.

Sofia Cantore, her former club teammate, assisted the 35-year-old Juventus striker, who scored both of her goals in that quarter-final.

Soncin was appointed in September 2023 by Italy, who haven’t defeated England since 2012. Despite having only ever played for men’s teams, he has gradually overcome his critics.

Soncin was viewed with some skepticism because he only had coaching experience in the men’s game and was primarily a youth coach, according to Bandini.

You can see that in this video, which he has really contributed to the last couple of years.

“I felt like I was entering this tournament because the group had a lot more energy than at other tournaments.”

And the Swiss team did it on the field, finishing second in their group behind tournament favorites Spain with displays of tactical flexibility and ability to exploit their opponents’ weaknesses.

It will be a technically fascinating game against England, says Bandini. “I’m really interested to see how Italy approaches it because one of the things that the coach at this tournament has shown is how he can change things up,” he said.

Italy plays with a back five against formidable Spain and a back four against formidable Norway, switching formations depending on the opponent.

It was a perfect move to target the Norwegians’ weaknesses at full-back, which was a test for the Lionesses as well.

The left-back position is a major headache that Sarina Wiegman has consistently encountered, Bandini says. “When we talk about England, we talk about it all the time.

Lucy Bronze prefers to advance even when you look the other way. That is a component of her game.

So I can see why this game’s wide focus is on broad areas. They are the strength of this Italian team because of their formidable options.

With their dribbling prowess, Bandini anticipates that Italy will use the back three, which includes Lucia di Guglielmo and Lisa Boattin.

Italy’s support for women’s football has since fallen behind other European countries, even though it reached the final in 1993 and 1997, respectively.

The Italian Football Federation committed to becoming a professional by the 2022-23 season only following the Azzurre’s surprise quarter-final appearance at the 2019 World Cup.

According to Bandini, who has an Italian father and an English mother, “football is the first professional women’s team sport in Italy,” which is a significant development.

It simply wasn’t given the same cultural focus as it did in some other nations at once.

Both Juventus and Roma have set the standard for women’s football, which is evident both on the pitch and in the Italy squad. Four of Italy’s starting pitchers came from Juve, with three coming from Roma, in the quarter-finals against Norway.

These players are used to working together, recognizing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, Bandini says.

This tournament is “novating” For the first time in a bigger tournament, the team has been able to do it.

Although Bandini believes that Italy will be looking to capitalize on any errors, she thinks England will be the clear favorites to win the tournament.

Italy has fulfilled their potential throughout this tournament, according to her. England have had its moments of weakness.

They’ve demonstrated that they still looked likely to get a result in a game in which they didn’t see much of the ball against a technically superior Spain.