Long balls, set pieces and brilliant Bronze: how England can improve against Italy | OneFootball

For all the well-deserved praise England have received since Thursday’s victory over Sweden, relating to their never-say-die attitude, spirited comeback and the gamechanging impact of their substitutes, it should not be forgotten that the defending champions are lucky still to be in Euro 2025.

The Lionesses were somewhat fortunate that Sweden failed to convert two penalties to win the contest and England will know they need to make notable improvements if they are to progress past Italy and reach a third consecutive major tournament final. Here are six areas in which the players and Sarina Wiegman must do better.

Be more selective with long balls

The England defenders Leah Williamson and Alex Greenwood have played more passes into the final third than any other players from the 16 teams who have contested this tournament, but fewer than half of Greenwood’s 26 long passes against Sweden were completed successfully. Both players are usually far more accurate when it comes to pass completion, as two of the best ball-playing centre-backs around.

Against Sweden, though, England did not seem to be picking the right moments to go long. There is clearly a case for some direct balls, exemplified by the perfect execution of Hannah Hampton’s defence-splitting pass against the Netherlands, but on Thursday England seemed too keen to go long more often than usual, and only one of Lucy Bronze’s seven long passes found its target.

Italy rank joint-11th for average possession at this tournament, whereas England’s 58% share puts them second only to Spain, so on Tuesday viewers can expect England to control most of the play. But they must pick and choose their moments to play the ball over the top. If Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone can control the midfield, England can thrive.

Make substitutions earlier

Wiegman did not make a change until the 70th minute in the quarter-final, despite England trailing 2-0, and although her triple change worked like a charm and all six of England’s eventual substitutes played important roles, there is a strong case to be made that the alterations came too late. Given the marked improvements England made after changing their tactical shape, could Wiegman have rolled the dice a little earlier and perhaps even won the tie in normal time?

Wiegman has tended not to make changes before the hour but with the tight turnaround between fixtures in this relatively short tournament, players will be tiring and introducing fresher legs earlier in the second half could be vital for England, particularly in light of their strength in depth.

Utilise the space being found by Bronze

Bronze was pushing up high from right-back against Sweden and was regularly asking for the ball in acres of space, unmarked, but the Lionesses were often either too slow to spot her run or unable to switch the ball with the diagonal pass required. Against Wales, England found success down the right repeatedly, either with Bronze linking with the winger Lauren James or with those players combining with the runs of Toone, and that trio will need to combine more effectively again to get in behind Italy’s defence.

Cut out sloppy errors

There were lapses in England’s passing out from the back against Sweden and they were punished by Kosovare Asllani’s early goal. They can ill afford a repeat. The Lionesses made three errors that led directly to shots on goal and that will be three too many if repeated against a team with a clinical striker such as Cristiana Girelli, who has scored 61 senior international goals.

A lot of the post-match attention focused on Jess Carter’s performance but she was not the only player to misplace a few easy-looking balls; Williamson’s completion rate for her short passes dropped to 79%, having been 100% against the Netherlands. Carter completed all 10 of her short passes against the Netherlands, in a game when England’s backline were in great form with their distribution. Bronze’s completion rate for short passes dropped to 61% from 33 attempts against Sweden, demonstrating how sloppy the Lionesses were in possession.

Make more of set pieces

England are yet to look threatening from attacking set pieces. That could be partly down to the quality of the deliveries but will also be related to the absence of some of the taller and aerially strong players who were at the last World Cup and Euros, such as Millie Bright or Rachel Daly. The centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy, arguably the strongest attacking weapon at corners in England’s squad, is unlikely to feature against Italy, but Wiegman and her staff will surely have been working on set pieces over the weekend.

Shoot more frequently

The Lionesses also need to shoot more often. Against Sweden they recorded only four shots on target and the figure was two against France in their opening fixture. Stanway, one of England’s strongest ball-strikers, who scored a superb goal with a first-time effort against the Netherlands, had one shot on Thursday and England will want to create more in-play situations where they can tee up the Bayern Munich midfielder to shoot from the edge of the box.

Header image: [Composite: Guardian Picture Desk]