UEFA Women's Euro Soccer Cup: 2025 - England vs. Italy in the Semifinals Liveblog

8:45 p.m. It's 15 minutes to kick-off in the Stade de Genève and its 30,084 seats. Sunny weather, temperatures around 21°C should be ideal for the 22 players on the field for England and Italy, as they play the first women's semi-final.

International Committee of the Red Cross building, Geneva
Photographer: Murray Foubister, 2013. CC-BY-SA-2.0 license.
Wikimedia Commons.

Before the game, England's coach Sarina Wiegman has announced that she is switching out Jessica Carter for Esme Morgan in her defense line-up.

Another change affects the pre-game ceremonies: England's team has decided to pause its tradition of kneeling on the soccer field before games, which symbolized support for people who face discrimination of all kinds. The players have concluded that the gesture is not effective, since online commenters have directed so much racist abuse at Jessica Carter since the Euro Cup began that the Football Association has asked the police to investigate and the UK Prime Minister released a statement condemning it.

In the meantime, Italy's coach has chosen to strengthen his defense. He selected Martina Lenzini to play in defense, while Emma Severini, who is a midfielder, will start the game on the bench.

The referee will be Ivana Martincic of Croatia.

9:15 p.m. Head trainer fashion watch: Italy's head coach Andrea Soncin is sporting a white dress shirt with slender dark tie. Meanwhile England's coach Sarina Wiegman is wearing a classic outfit of black blazer over white t-shirt, and large-framed glasses. Both are pairing their outfits with facial expressions of deep concentration.

9:20 p.m.

In this first part of the semi-final, both teams are still apparently sounding each other out. Both Italy and England, especially England, are managing to pierce each other's defenses and win chances at a goal. (Even though Sancini has crowded the defense and midfield with so many players that only one forward player — Cristiana Girelli, who scored both goals in the Round of 16 game where Italy beat Norway — remains, these lines are proving less of a block than, say, Switzerland's in its Round of 16 game against Spain.)

A few fouls (but not vicious ones) have fallen in the first 20 minutes, like Lucy Bronze's slightly dangerous raised foot, which hit an Italian player, who was receiving an airborne ball, around the ankle. The German ZDF channel commentator noted that Bronze was lucky to escape a yellow card.

But, in between runs, the teammates in defense are taking up time passing the ball back and forth to each other. Italy's speedy footwork, on full display against Norway, is only appearing in brief glimpses. In short, both teams are conserving energy.

9:34 p.m.

Roughly 30 minutes in, the ball bounces off the legs of the referee, and Italy is irate as England's players run with the ball toward the Italian goal.

A pop-up in the livestream shows that the general impression that England has been mildly more dominant is correct: the team has had 55% ball possession, as opposed to Italy's 45%. However...

Italy's team runs toward England's goal.

After the 32 minute mark, a high ball arcs down toward Italy's player Barbara Bonansea. She captures it with her foot in front of England's net, and then lets it fly into the top of the mesh, so that goalie Hannah Hampton has no hope of catching it.

⚽ Italy 1 - 0 England ⚽

And the fans of Italy begin singing their national anthem...

10:20 p.m. - Beth Mead is substituted in for Lauren James as the 2nd half begins.

Caution is thrown to the wind as both Italy and England rush for goals, no longer pausing to pass the ball back and forth in their own halves.

But the game remains fair, and two or three times Italian and English players have exchanged gestures after a clash that seem to indicate that there are no hard feelings.

10:35 p.m. - Latest statistic: England has completed 280 passes, against Italy's 194.

Misfortune has struck for Italy:

Cristiana Girelli lies on the grass, clutching her inner thigh.

Medical staff rush onto the field. After initial treatment, she walks off the field, crying as she reaches the sidelines, where team staff and benched players console her. Martina Piemonte switches in for her. This may, according to the commentator, be Girelli's last Euro Cup. She was also, as mentioned, one of Italy's best hopes of achieving a goal.

10:40 p.m. - England has had 11 attempts on goal, versus Italy's 3.

Italy's head coach sends off Sofia Cantore for Michela Cambiaghi, and goal-scorer Barbara Bonansea for Emma Severini.

Not long after, the coach receives a yellow card, and retires to the bench.

England's head coach also has substitutions on her mind; she sends in Chloe Kelly for Georgia Stanway, and the hopeful cheering from the stands is immense.

Within a few minutes, England has won three corner kicks, although none results in a goal.

10:50 p.m. - Sarina Wiegman makes two more substitutions on England's team: forward Alessia Russo and team captain Leah Williamson leave, in favour of Michelle Agyemang and Agnes Beever-Jones.

11:05 p.m. - Giada Greggi and Julie Piga have been switched on for Martina Lenzini and Manuela Giugliano.

As it nears full time, the referee announces that there will be 7 minutes of added time. She celebrates the first minute of that added time by awarding a yellow card each to Cambiaghi and England's Esme Morgan, after a clash.

11:08 p.m. - ⚽ England has scored their 1-1 goal! ⚽

Agyemang is near Italy's goal and manages to kick the ball through the legs of both an Italian defender and Italy's goalie Laura Giuliani like a knife through butter. Her opponents look traumatized.

After 90 + 8 minutes, it's official that there will be extended time.

11:15 p.m. - A flying English foot appears to have hit Italian player Lucia Di Guglielmo in the nose, and even led to bleeding. But the game resumes shortly.

Italy's defense triumphs again as goalie Giuliani falls down after fending off a ball, which bounces onto the field again. But a teammate standing at the goalpost sends the ball flying sideways off the field, averting both an English goal and an English corner kick.

A few minutes later, England has another chance at a goal as Chloe Kelly outmaneuvers 5 Italian players, but as she sends the ball soaring, it goes too high to go in.

The statistics: England has had 19 attempts on goal, to Italy's 8.

Half-time of extended time ensues.

11:30 p.m. - In the second half of extended time, veteran English defender Lucy Bronze bumps her head into Italy's Emma Severini's head from behind... Severini had some chance of hitting the ball, but Bronze didn't, so Italy receives a free kick. The free kick does not transmute into a goal.

England wins a corner, but soon the ball is back in the possession of Italy's goalie, who seems in no hurry to hit it out into the field again. Agyemang complains to the Italian players and to the referee.

Agyemang's next action bears more fruit: she shoots at Italy's net and succeeds in bouncing the ball off the top bar. It was almost a goal.

11:35 p.m. - But then the turning point arrived: Severini and England's Beth Mead were tussling near Italy's goal, and Mead ended up falling.

Severini was (right in front of the referee) apparently encaging Mead with her arms and essentially 'wrestling the English player to the ground.'

So the referee's reaction was... to award an 11 metre penalty shot to England.

— The ZDF TV live commentator found this too harsh, especially as from some angles it looked more like an equal tussle. —

Be that as it may, Kelly took the penalty. She sent the first shot rebounding off the goalie, only to follow up with another shot that fired into the net.

⚽ England 2-1 Italy! ⚽

The second half of extended time goes into added time.

11:40 p.m. -  Jess Carter is summoned onto the field by Sarina Wiegman, as a sign of support.

Meanwhile, one of the players on Italy's bench is crying, having clearly given up on winning the semi-final, as her head coach is shown apparently leaving the field, his suit jacket put on back over his shirt. But soon he reappears on the bench.

A yellow card for Beth Mead. A free kick for Italy.

No goal.

Then Italy throws in the ball from the sidelines, after England rolled the ball out of bounds.

But it's the end of added time: the referee blows the final whistle.

11:45 p.m. -  Both coaches stride onto the field, with presumably diametrically opposed feelings.

England's fans sing "Sweet Caroline" as the players celebrate.

England will face either Germany or Spain in the final, on Sunday, in Basel.

[Note: Many of the timestamps have been added in later as approximations to divide up the flow of the blog, and may not be 100% accurate.]