It has been quite a ride for England, with this victory following its comeback against Sweden, while the nature of the defeat for Italy was cruel.

Many of their players were in tears at full time, as the Azzurre — who are ranked 13th in the world and were not expected to come this far — fell short of reaching a first final since the 1997 Euros.

"It hurts, but we are very proud of all that we have done," said Italy coach Andrea Soncin. "We will need a few days to overcome this bitter moment, but we will keep growing."

"The fact we were just a minute away from the final can be encouraging for us.

"Our future goal is to go to the World Cup in Brazil, so we are already looking forward."

Wiegman made one change from the quarterfinal win against Sweden, as Jess Carter was replaced by Esme Morgan in defense.

The former had been the target of racial abuse in the build-up to the game that drew a backlash from Wiegman and England's players.

England had the backing of the majority of the 26,539 crowd in Geneva, and it had the momentum in the opening stages of the match.