Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Women's Euro match.
At the past two UEFA Women’s Euro tournaments, Italy failed to progress beyond the group stage. This time, however, they have reached the semi-finals. Their chances of advancing to the final appear slim, as they now face reigning European champions England.
England (women)
This marks the sixth consecutive major tournament in which England have reached the semi-finals, including two previous Euros and three World Cups. However, only UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 resulted in a title. On their way to that triumph, England swept aside Sweden with a dominant 4:0 win. At the current tournament, they faced Sweden again, this time progressing after a penalty shootout (2:2, 3:2 on penalties). Sweden missed three of their five attempts due to poor accuracy, while the England goalkeeper made four saves.
Italy (women)
Italy avoided penalties in their quarter-final, overcoming Norway in regulation time. They benefited from being drawn against the lowest-ranked group winner (No. 16), while Italy themselves are ranked 13th. The team showed more attacking intent and posed the greater threat going forward, but the decisive goal only arrived in the 90th minute, when Cristiana Girelli, the experienced forward, scored her second of the match.
England (women) vs Italy (women) Prediction
While Italy have occasionally reached the knockout stages, they have not made it to the semi-finals of a Women’s Euro since 1997, when they eventually lost in the final. The current fixture appears to be heavily tilted against them. In the past two years, England have played Italy twice, winning both matches while conceding – 2:1 and 5:1 respectively.
