England have it all stacked in their favour, the truth is anything but victory for Sarina Wiegman's side would be a calamity, writes IAN HERBERT

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

As if the breathtaking panorama of the Jura Mountains and Mont Blanc were not enough for those touching down in this place, the local airport's promotional videos encourage visitors to head for Jungfraujoch, the granite saddle connecting two Alpine peaks which they call 'top of Europe.'
After a rollercoaster three weeks which have at times felt like riding Geneva's Mont Saleve cable car on a stormy day, Sarina Wiegman 's England will continue their quest for the continent's ultimate peak on Tuesday night.
After the indignity of being knocked senseless by France in the opening game and the rank chaos of their quarter-final against Sweden, including that barely believable shoot-out, Wiegman will probably welcome any kind of normality against Italy.
She spoke here on Monday night of how her team were primed and ready for the greater level of intensity which any opponent brings to a tournament semi-final.
The disgraceful social media abuse of defender Jess Carter, which has led the team to withdraw from the gesture of taking the knee, will surely also fortify a team whose spirit in the face of adversity has always been a prime asset. Everyone in the squad 'wants to send a message to the world', in the face of that hate, midfielder Georgia Stanway declared here.
But there is a reality neither of them could admit to. Given the generous route towards the final England have been handed, anything but victory would be a calamity here.
Wiegman, armed with players from the continent's best clubs and its richest league, in the WSL, goes up against a side based almost entirely in the Serie A Femminile. The world rankings — England are fifth, Italy 13th — don't begin to describe the difference in resources.
Wiegman must hope the team who beat a declining Dutch side and the minnows from Wales in the group stage will turn up. But given the inconsistency and vulnerability to counter-attacking pace which was so sorely exposed against France and Sweden, Italy will see a weakness to exploit.
There is no greater emblem of the struggle for order at the back than the fact that Carter, the 27-year-old defender who plays for US side Gotham FC, has taken up three different positions across the rearguard in this tournament.
Left back, where France's Delphine Cascarino punished her in England's opening game. Right-sided centre half, where Sweden's Stina Blackstenius again made life very difficult. And left-sided centre back, after Carter and Leah Williamson swapped positions at the heart of defence in that game.
Wiegman's dilemma is whether to swap Carter for 24-year-old centre back Esme Morgan, who added extra heft when replacing her last Thursday — though the Dutch head coach was typically inscrutable on the topic on Monday night at a press conference in which the predominant theme was not letting those from the social media swamp win.
Many wonder why Maya Le Tissier, the Manchester United centre half who was outstanding last season and is one of the nation's outstanding talents, has not been tried out, but Wiegman sees her as a right back. Wiegman is always compartmentalised in her thinking.
The defence's problems are a response to problems further forward. There was frayed thinking and panic in midfield when each of the two games against decent teams in this tournament started going against England.
We saw softly squandered possession and, against Sweden, confusion over whether the solution lay in taking the game back to them or holding the line and rediscovering a shape.
Wiegman's in-game coaching has a certain predictability, too, despite her indisputably good tournament record. Many of her substitutes arrive on 70 minutes, whatever the circumstances. She seemed to wait too long before making changes to the side that struggled against Sweden.
Changes made between games have done most to give Wiegman a record of never having lost two England games in a row since taking charge in 2021 — though asked if there were lessons learned from the near-exit against Sweden, she implied not. 'I would not say there is one thing we would take over to this game,' she said. Many would challenge that view.
Andrea Soncin's Italy, playing their first semi-final at a major tournament since 1997, have succeeded here by launching direct counter-attacks from a deep defensive line, which they will hope can exploit England's struggle to deal with pace.
Their main goal threat is experienced Juventus striker Cristiana Girelli and Soncin's comments in the Italian media this week suggested he spots weakness in this England team.
'They are not unbeatable,' he said. 'They certainly have a very high-quality squad, especially in attack.'
The Italian papers have been full of the testimonies from members of Soncin's team describing how they can't quite believe they beat Norway in the quarter-finals to make it here, and how they will only be able to process all this when they get back home.
The Italian media like the story of the team adopting British singer Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten' as a team anthem as they have progressed. Soncin certainly isn't ready for home.
The free spirit of the Italians — who frustrated tournament favourites Spain for a long time with by sitting deep, before losing 3-1 in the group stage — perhaps poses another threat for England. Yet the ingredient which did most to get Wiegman's players to the European title of 2022 and the World Cup final a year later is still intact: a depth of indefatigable players capable of arriving from the bench to see them home.
Chloe Kelly, totemic in that legendary final against Germany as she whirled her shirt in the Wembley air in 2022, turned the Sweden game in England's favour and was a de-facto captain from the margins. Michelle Agyemang, Arsenal's 19-year-old forward, was the wildcard, bringing the pace, technical skill and brute physicality which so many in the women's game have been talking about, these past few years.
Agyemang's coaches have been waiting for her to announce her arrival in the British public's consciousness. The next six days, should England get through this semi-final, might just be that moment for her.
The FA seem very certain this team's future resides with Wiegman. It was why they decided to announce before this tournament even started that her future was safe, whatever the outcome here for England. The credibility of that decision is on the line on Tuesday night.
The obstacles standing in the way of England retaining their title — the extremely impressive Spain, or Germany — makes reaching the top of Europe a formidable challenge but after a sometimes unfathomable few weeks, they need at least to earn themselves a shot of it.