England v Italy live: Team news updates as Lucy Bronze and Leah Williamson set for Lionesses line-up in Euro 2025 semi-final – UK Times

The confirmed line-ups will be announced in the next few minutes, but all of Wiegman’s squad of 23 took part in the training following the gruelling clash with Sweden, including Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze and Lauren James.

Asked if she expected to have a fully fit squad for the semi-final, Wiegman said: “That’s what it looks like, yeah.”

Lucy Bronze, who is England’s most senior player at Euro 2025, says the online abuse faced by women’s footballers is getting “worse and worse” the bigger the game becomes.

“We’re obviously open to critics – that’s why we love the sport – but we’re not open to abuse,” said Bronze, who is playing in her seventh major tournament for England.

“We see it more in the stadiums in men’s football and online, but I think with women’s football there seems to be a real target online.”

The England squad has arrived at the Stade de Geneve. While the majority of players gather together when they walk out onto the pitch, either chatting, taking photos, or looking for friends and family in the crowd, Chloe Kelly heads off on her own on a walk between both boxes. The coolest customer around.

Very randomly, while I was on the train into Geneva, the Switzerland head coach Pia Sundhage got on and sat opposite me. Sundhage will be at both semi-finals, after leading hosts Switzerland on a historic run to the quarter-finals. The 65-year-old said the experience of leading Switzerland at the Euros was “overwhelming” and that it would take some time for what they achieved to sink in. For now, she predicted an England win, but said it could be “magic” for Italy to reach the final.

England defender Alex Greenwood believes taking the knee has “lost its purpose” and said the Lionesses want to stake a stand against racist abuse after Jess Carter revealed her ordeal at Euro 2025.

“We hope other organisations, and other teams, have the same feeling as us and also want to do something to make a change,” Greenwood said to BBC Radio 5 Live.

As England prepare for their Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy, Sarina Wiegman knows she can rely on a 19-year-old striker who thrives when the Lionesses are in trouble.

England defender Esme Morgan said Lucy Bronze’s warrior spirit is inspiring the Lionesses at Euro 2025, with the veteran’s “passion, energy and fight” spreading around the team as they prepare for Tuesday’s semi-final against Italy.

The right back is appearing at her seventh major tournament for England and with the Lionesses now through to their sixth consecutive semi-final, Morgan said Bronze remains as important as ever.

Around the England camp, there’s a different air. The squad insist they are fully focused on Tuesday’s Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy, but it’s not quite a case of drawing a line under the week’s big story, in the way that often happens in such situations. Certainly for games of this magnitude.

By contrast, many of the players want to use the occasion to draw attention to the stand they’re trying to make. They wanted to “send a message to the world,” in the words of Sarina Wiegman.

Welcome to Stade de Geneve – home of Servette FC, the 17-time Swiss champions, and host of tonight’s Euro 2025 semi-final between England and Italy.

The stadium is essentially boxed in by motorways but it comes with a dramatic backdrop: the sheer cliffs of Mont Saleve, which is in France, towering behinds the stands.

Midfielder Georgia Stanway said the racist abuse suffered by Jess Carter and the Lionesses’ collective response has “brought us together as a team” and said anyone posting abuse towards players on social media “are not fans”.

On the decision to not take the knee against Italy, a symbolic anti-racism gesture the Lionesses have performed for several years, Stanway said: “We’ve decided not to take the knee because we want more action to be made. We want to create more of a talking point and a point to make more change.”