England aim to solve wobbles in semi-final, and what to expect from Italy

Sarina Wiegman has won back-to-back Euros titles as manager, having led both the Netherlands and England to the title

Englands preparations for their Euro 2025 semi-final with Italy on Tuesday have been overshadowed by the racial abuse suffered by defender Jess Carter.

Players have had to rally around Carter to offer support, while ensuring they remain focused on their attempts to defend their European title.

Having endured a difficult few days, whether Carter will start is among the decisions Wiegman will have to consider as England seek to reach a third successive major tournament final.

But can Italy upset the defending champions and have England sorted out their defensive issues?

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Racist abuse received by Carter disgusting and disgraceful - Wiegman

A recurring theme of Englands tournament has been the weaknesses exposed in defence, with France and Swedens pace causing them problems.

Carter has switched positions on three occasions - playing as a right-sided centre-back, a left-sided centre-back and a left-back to try to solve the issue.

Alex Greenwood has also switched from centre-back to full-back, while defender Esme Morgan impressed when she came off the bench in the win over Sweden.

Wiegman has a selection headache with Morgan pushing for a starting place, and she might also choose to protect Carter following the racial abuse.

"Although its a hard situation, Jess is a very strong person and wants to move on. She also felt we had to address this. You cant just let it go," said Wiegman.

"We know theres a match going on and were ready to perform - shes ready to perform and to compete. That says a lot about her and the team.

"We have headaches all the time because a lot of players can play from the start. Its what makes the team so strong."

There were also doubts over the availability of captain Leah Williamson after she was seen using crutches and wearing a protective boot on Thursday.

But Wiegman confirmed Williamson has recovered from an ankle injury and she was in full training on Monday.

"She really wants to play and she did everything to recover as quickly as possible - and she has. It means she is available," added Wiegman.

England became the first team to progress from a knockout tie at the Euros having trailed by two goals in their win over Sweden.

Meanwhile, Italy have opened the scoring in all four of their matches so far.

So can England wipe away the cobwebs and produce a solid defensive display?

"Id like to think weve got all the wobbles out of the way," England forward Beth Mead told BBC Sport.

"I think this is very much the business end of the tournament, weve got to be on it and weve got to be very much in the right headspace. Weve got to play well in knockout football now."

England have won seven of their last 10 games in all competitions against Italy and are playing in their seventh Euros semi-final.

They have progressed from two of the last three, whereas opponents Italy, ranked 13th in the world, are in the semi-finals for the first time since 1997.

It means England go into Tuesdays game as favourites - but Wiegman is wary of acknowledging that.

"It would be really disrespectful to think we are the favourites," she said.

"They made the semi-final just like we did and thats very impressive for any team. Complacency is the biggest mistake you could make.

"You have seen them, how they have played. I dont think there is any way we can think that we might be favourites. We have to be at our very best to win."

Defender Alex Greenwood told BBC Radio 5 Live it has become an "expectation" that England reach at least the semi-finals.

"I think as a team now, weve set those standards to reach these levels. Were really proud of that achievement," she added.

Mead said England "thrive under pressure", while Brighton midfielder Fran Kirby, who retired from international football before the tournament, admitted Italy are "definitely the underdogs".

"I think everyone knows that from the outside," Kirby told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"But on the flip side, Italy will have seen Englands performances and think that theres an opportunity there as well because they know they can score goals.

"[Hopefully] England play the way that we know they can play and really shut up shop defensively."

Though the top division of womens football in Italy was established in 1968, its only in recent years that their domestic game turned fully professional.

The national team have never dropped below 19th in Fifas world rankings - but they failed to qualify for four successive World Cups between 2003 and 2015.

So what kind of challenge will Italy pose England when they meet at 20:00 BST on Tuesday?

"They have got a never-say-die attitude. They are a very aggressive, hard team to play against," said Mead.

"They can be frustrating and they have individual quality.

"Its going to be a tough game and I know theyre very much going to be up for it. They have something to prove, as do we.

"Were defending champions but weve got to go out there and put the performance in. Weve got to be at the races to beat this Italian team."

In recent meetings, England have come out on top.

Wiegmans side earned a 2-1 win in the Arnold Clark Cup in February 2023, before inflicting a 5-1 defeat in a friendly 12 months later.

But in captain Cristiana Girelli, Italy have a player in form - the 35-year-old has netted three goals in the tournament so far.

"I think both teams will be confident going into the game for different reasons," added Kirby.

"Its going to be really interesting, but I think England just need to tighten up a little bit. The Italian fans are also super passionate."

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You can never write England off - Kirby

Former England captain Steph Houghton told BBC Radio 5 Live she is "really confident" they can reach a third successive major final.

"We can take really great confidence in how we came back against Sweden. It was more of a semi-final. Its an amazing opportunity for us," added Houghton.

Kirby said England were "very expansive" against Sweden and they cannot afford to be the same against Italy.

"We were losing every second ball. Sweden killed us in the transition moments with their pace and Italy have quite a similar way of playing," added Kirby.

"England really needs to focus on that side of the game against Italy. But I dont think Italy are as strong as Sweden."

Ex-Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha believes England have shown they are capable of performing in the biggest moments.

"Its tough to not believe in them. They have done everything they have needed to get to this point," he said.

"Against Sweden, we saw them suffer but they found a way and made Sweden really uncomfortable.

"When you are a winner, why would you not take belief into the next game?"