By OkayGoal 
The stage is set for the final four of the Euros to unfold, with all of the focus on the matches being played in Geneva and Zurich. England and Italy will kick off at the Stade de Genève, and Germany and Spain will face off at Letzigrund. The entire tournament has provided us with some incredible moments in each game, and these semifinal matchups are likely to give us even more to enjoy. Let’s get into the two semifinal matchups coming up in the Women’s Euro 2025.
England vs. Italy: Tuesday, July 22 at 3 PM ET/12 PM PT, Fox
England and Italy both won with maximum drama to get to this point. After going down 2-0 to Sweden, England scored twice in two minutes from the 79th to 81st minute to tie the game 2-2. In the shootout, Hannah Hampton was the star. After suffering a bloody nose earlier in the match, the Chelsea goalkeeper made multiple saves in the penalty shootout to help England advance. Italy managed to break Norwegian hearts thanks to their greatest player in their country’s history, Cristiana Girelli. Girelli scored in the 90th minute to put Italy back in the semifinals for the first time since 1997.
The Lionesses are the favorites against Italy. But, the Italians play a very similar style to Sweden, characterized by a defense-first approach. Of course, all of the focus will be on Cristiana Girelli and the new Washington Spirit signing, Sofia Cantore. If England can shut that duo down, they have a great chance of getting to the final. If Italy manages to score early or keep the game at 0-0 for most of it, they will grow in confidence that they can pull off an upset. The good news for England is that Italy doesn’t play particularly fast, but if they are weak in the air, they can concede.
With that being said, England has a deep team, which could be advantageous if this were to go to extra time and possibly penalties. It’s quite the luxury to bring in a player of Chloe Kelly’s caliber off the bench. She’d start for 90% of the teams at the Euros otherwise. England have the better team overall and are the defending champions; losing this game would still be a big surprise. I’m taking the Three Lionesses to win.
Prediction: England wins 2-1
Germany vs. Spain: Wednesday, July 23 at 3 PM ET/12 PM PT, Fox
Ann-Katrin Berger put together one of the best performances of her career to help Germany advance past France in the quarterfinals. That diving last-ditch save is a highlight that will be played for generations to come. Somehow, Germany was able to hold on with 10 players for 107 minutes of game action. Their defense and goalkeeping deserve a medal. However, part of that victory was a classic French loss. France had a generational group of players who lost in a game that they may never have a better chance of winning against a team like Germany. The Germans will play with house money coming into this semifinal with a team that no one wants to play: Spain.
On the opposite side, you have Spain, who are the favorites coming into the competition. They’ve barely been tested, with their toughest being against Belgium. After managing to break down the Swiss and end the hosts’ run with a 2-0 win, they will have all the confidence in the world. Can the Germans find a way to replicate their success against France? Their ability to counter will be key, as Spain’s only real weakness is its defense.
However, Spain has a much better quality in terms of their finishing. Esther is leading the NWSL Golden Boot race and is on the verge of winning the Euro Golden Boot too. If she gets a sniff of the goal, the ball is going in, and that’s with multiple superstars behind her in the midfield. As long as Spain controls the possession as they usually do, they’ll win this game. But it will be a tightly contested affair. Germany has come too far to go down quietly. But Spain is most likely going to get to the Euro final for the first time in their history.
Prediction: Spain wins 1-0
Featured image via Getty Images
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