England's semifinal record is the result of hard work and unity

GENEVA, Switzerland -- Having scored the archetypal of England's 2 goals successful their stunning quarterfinal comeback against Sweden, strapping her ain injured limb up successful extra-time, earlier ditching the strapping and hammering location what turned retired to beryllium the winning punishment successful the shootout, close backmost Lucy Bronze was asked in this property of "proper England" whether that was a "proper Lucy Bronze" performance.

"Lucy Bronze is due England," she responded.

Tuesday's crippled against Italy volition beryllium England's sixth large semifinal successful 10 years; Bronze and chap defender Alex Greenwood person been portion of the squad for each six.

"It's astonishing speaking to them astir the travel and the alteration successful the things that we person astatine our basal camp, for example," defender Esme Morgan, who came connected against Sweden arsenic a substitute, said. "And it's truly peculiar knowing however acold the crippled has come, and it's a large root of pridefulness that England person consistently got to the past signifier of these tournaments."

Reaching the last 4 seems mean for the Lionesses now, but it wasn't ever this mode and has been the effect of a batch of hard enactment implicit the past decade.

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Semifinal success

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Marsden: England volition respire 'huge suspiration of relief' aft penalties win

Sam Marsden reacts to England's punishment shootout triumph implicit Sweden that puts the holders successful the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals.

The 2015 World Cup successful Canada was commencement of the "Bronze Age" (it was lone Bronze's 2nd large tournament) and, arsenic England reached World Cup semifinal for the archetypal time, she played connected the near wing, close back, scored a thunderbolt victor against Norway successful the circular of 16, and netted a cardinal header against Canada successful the quarterfinals. England went connected to suffer to Japan successful the semifinals, but came third, overcoming perennial foes Germany 1-0 successful other clip successful the third-place playoff. It proved to beryllium 1 of the launchpad moments for this team.

The Lionesses past besides reached the semifinals of Euro 2017, wherever they mislaid 3-0 to Netherlands (who were nether the absorption of Sarina Wiegman); 1 subordinate from that squad told ESPN that the concealed down their advancement successful some tournaments was down to "pure fight" and a "complete underdog mentality."

But by the clip of the 2019 World Cup successful France, England were nary longer underdogs and went into it with precocious expectations and an experienced squad. They enactment successful their champion show of the tourney successful the 3-0 quarterfinal triumph implicit Norway, but past ran into the United States successful the semifinal, wherever a missed punishment and a tea-cup solemnisation sent them home. By this point, the concern successful the squad -- past managed by Phil Neville -- was rising each year; the grooming facilities were improving, the wealth connected connection successful the Women's Super League was expanding each year, and the footballing superpower we cognize present was starting to instrumentality shape.

When Wiegman took complaint of England successful 2021, each that hard enactment paid disconnected and she was unequivocal successful the mode she felt England should be. Off the pitch, she banned the players from wearing jewelry portion playing shot arsenic it affected their grooming metrics; messaging to the players was direct, with small country for ambiguity. On the field, she switched skipper from Steph Houghton to Leah Williamson and her acquisition of winning large tournaments led to England dancing to the dependable of "Sweet, Caroline" aft winning Euro 2022 connected location soil.

That acquisition was cardinal a twelvemonth aboriginal arsenic England reached the last of the 2023 World Cup, losing 1-0 to Spain. Once again, Bronze starred connected the field, but was besides their spokesperson disconnected it erstwhile needed.

"If we hadn't person got to the semifinals, I would person said we would person underperformed," she said astatine the time. "Our performances haven't been our best, granted, but the results person been determination ... We got past the hurdle past twelvemonth successful the Euros and yet made it to the final. We got past that dreaded [feeling of] ever being beaten successful the semifinals truthful we've got that successful the locker."

The 'why' is the motivator

As England hole for their sixth large semifinal successful 10 years aft a tense buildup of retirements and antagonistic press, Bronze is inactive there. And inactive starring from the front.

Before the tourney started, each subordinate sat down and told the different 22 successful the squad wherefore they privation to play for England and what has driven them to this point. On the partition of the squad country successful their campy astatine the Dolder Grand edifice successful Zurich, the players person a photograph of them arsenic youngsters, but different of them from their England journey. Bronze's is from the third-place lucifer astatine the 2019 World Cup (a crippled England mislaid 2-1 to Sweden, wherever she looked utterly exhausted.

"I volition springiness anything, and I volition springiness everything erstwhile I play successful an England shirt," Bronze says of wherefore she chose that photo. "I wanted each the girls to cognize that that's my 'why.' My 'why' is to springiness everything for this squad due to the fact that I conscionable emotion playing for England truthful much."

After the opening-game nonaccomplishment to France, she addressed her teammates again and reminded them however they mislaid their archetypal lucifer backmost successful 2015 and ended up reaching the semifinals. All was not lost, and they trusted 1 different to respond.

"I deliberation we've made ourselves precise vulnerable, whether it's individually, arsenic Sarina herself has made herself precise vulnerable, staff, players," England guardant Beth Mead said to the BBC. "I deliberation that gives america truthful overmuch much togetherness, truthful overmuch much spot of each other, that we're consenting to stock truly pugnacious moments with each other. How tin we assistance each different successful those moments?

"I'm ace arrogant of however we've really dealt with that arsenic a squad. In the past, I consciousness similar possibly teams that I person been a portion of mightiness not person been capable to bash that truthful positively and rapidly successful hard moments.

"I truly deliberation that Sarina has instilled that into america arsenic a team, and we cognize she's got our back, we've got her backmost and you tin spot that successful the way, obviously, we person travel backmost successful performances and it's not gone rather close and we've still, you know, fixed that 'Proper England' attitude."

Unity is holding England together

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Laurens: Italy volition beryllium good with underdogs tag vs. England

Julien Laurens previews the archetypal semifinal astatine Women's Euro 2025 arsenic surprise-package Italy instrumentality connected defending champions England.

"Proper England" has been England's mantra successful Switzerland and that taxable of togetherness has been cardinal to their tally to yet different semifinal.

The "positive clicks" clique -- the radical the substitutes person formed to support spirits high, and strength astatine a level wherever they are acceptable to leap into enactment whenever needed -- has been key. We saw that against Netherlands wherever England had to triumph to debar going retired aft lone their 2nd lucifer (and did so, 4-0), past against Wales wherever England prevailed 6-1, and past successful that helter-skelter quarterfinal against Sweden that saw them travel backmost from 2-0 down with the assistance of their subs to advancement connected a punishment shootout that saw 9 misses. They needed a immense portion of luck, but it's unity which has carried them forward.

We've seen that togetherness connected amusement again successful the past mates of days. On Sunday, defender Jess Carter released a connection wherever she talked astir the racist maltreatment she's been taxable to done the tournament. The players responded with a corporate message; supporting Carter, condemning the maltreatment she's received and announcing that they'd nary longer instrumentality the genu earlier matches.

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Once more, it was Bronze who fronted up to the media. She spoke brilliantly for 20-odd minutes arsenic she near the satellite successful nary uncertainty implicit the choler and sadness the Lionesses felt astatine the racist maltreatment Carter received. But besides however they would basal together.

"We're each precise nonrecreational and capable to absorption connected shot whilst supporting each other," she said. "We each enactment Jess; Jess supports the team. No substance what we're each going done we're each capable to bash that and I deliberation we've shown that successful this tourney and successful erstwhile tournaments, successful erstwhile meetings with antithetic players going done antithetic scenarios whether it's thing going connected astatine home, deaths of parents, to racism, to homophobia.

"There's truthful galore issues that spell on, this squad basal up and talk retired for and we each enactment each different done all, and whilst we're doing that we're inactive palmy arsenic a shot squad and I deliberation that's what gives america this level to beryllium capable to talk retired and to propulsion adjacent more.

"Moments similar that empower america some disconnected the transportation and connected the pitch, truthful for america it's astir however we're empowered arsenic players to marque a alteration and cognize that driving for occurrence volition assistance america marque those changes."

Make nary mistake, England volition beryllium emotionally charged erstwhile they look Italy connected Tuesday successful Geneva. On the field, they'll beryllium keeping everything crossed that Williamson is acceptable to look Italy aft she turned her ankle against Sweden, and they'll beryllium hoping the show is much akin to Netherlands and Wales than France and Sweden.

If it was corporate combat which got them done to their first-ever World Cup semifinal backmost successful 2015, it's been the "proper England" mentality and the spot of the battalion this clip around. And it's besides been Bronze. "She conscionable benignant of enactment her shoulders backmost and played like, 'I'm not letting america spell home,'" Morgan said of her teammate against Sweden.

England person embraced a mentality of winning matches astatine immoderate idiosyncratic cost, but besides ensuring that if 1 subordinate of the squad is hurting, the remainder of the battalion rallies astir them. And it's what has them connected the verge of yet different final.