No penalty practice for England ahead of Italy showdown, says Wiegman

Sarina Wiegman revealed that her England team had not been practising their penalties ahead of their Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy on Tuesday. 

England booked their place in the final four with a 3-2 victory in a shootout against Sweden, having come from two goals down in normal time to draw 2-2. 

The Lionesses win from the penalty spot saw them stay perfect from their three shootouts under Wiegman, having lost the previous four before her appointment. 

But the manner in which they progressed was the talking point, with England seeing four of their seven penalties repelled by Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk. 

And misses from 12 yards have been a reoccurring theme at the tournament, with 17 of the 41 penalties taken at Euro 2025 having been missed (41% including shootouts). 

Across the three previous editions of the tournament combined (2013, 2017, 2022), only 18 of the 59 total penalties taken were missed (31%).  

"We practised for hours and hours!," Wiegman joked before adding: "No we didn’t."

"Over the last few months, players have trained for penalties all the time, also at their clubs. You want to be as prepared as possible.

"Hopefully it’s not necessary. We have practised again."

But one of those players who was able to convert their penalty against Sweden was Chloe Kelly, who made an instant impact in their quarter-final triumph. 

Kelly, who joined Arsenal on a permanent deal before the tournament, was brought on in the 78th minute and provided the assist for Lucy Bronze's header a minute later. 

She then played a crucial role in Michelle Agyemang's equaliser, brilliantly cutting inside before crossing into the area, which saw Beth Mead cushion the ball into her path. 

Despite only playing 126 minutes and not yet starting a game at the tournament, only two England players have created more chances than Kelly (six). 

Kelly has also made the joint most substitute appearances in Euros history (10, level with Denmark's Nadia Nadim), though Wiegman hinted she could be used from the start against Italy. 

"In our squad we have different players in each position with different attributes. That's what she brought when she came on," Wiegman said.

"She showed she was ready, she crossed the ball from right and left, she was really sharp, as were all the subs. They did their job. It was a hard fight.

"That's what we hope players bring when they come on the pitch."

And Wiegman conceded that she has a selection dilemma heading into their clash at Stade de Geneve, given the impact her substitutes have made. 

Indeed, since the start of Euro 2022, England's substitutes have scored four result-altering goals (all in knockout games), more than any other nation in this period.

The Lionesses' replacements have also had 15 shots and created nine chances at Euro 2025, the most of any nation's substitutes at this year's tournament. 

"We have headaches all the time, because a lot of players can start," Wiegman added. 

"That’s what makes the team strong. Before every game we take a lot of things into consideration. We will also do that tomorrow."

It was also confirmed that captain Leah Williamson was back in training ahead of the semi-final after picking up a 

Wiegman also addressed the situation surrounding defender Jess Carter, who was subject to racial abuse on social media after England's win over Sweden. 

The England boss said that her players had decided to stop taking the knee before matches because the impact of the anti-racism gesture is "not good enough". 

The Lionesses also confirmed that they would not take the knee before their Euro 2025 semi-final with Italy. 

"Taking the knee, that's not enough. We have done that for a while. The impact is not good enough, it's not as big as we think," Wiegman said.