England expects: key questions and lessons before Euro 2022 semi-final

When Ella Toone’s equaliser hit the net on Wednesday night, the midfielder Jill Scott hugged her England teammate Rachel Daly, who had slumped on to the bench two minutes earlier. It was a brief moment of comfort, with the arms saying: ‘It’s all OK.’ Daly had struggled in England’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat of Spain. The half-time introduction of Real Madrid’s Athenea del Castillo caused the makeshift left-back all sorts of problems and the 21-year-old forward made light work of Daly’s misjudged challenge before delivering for Esther González to fire Spain in front. No player will have a perfect game every time, but with Spain a higher level of opposition England’s weaknesses were exposed. Sarina Wiegman has shown she likes to stick with an established XI. Daly, meanwhile, is not likely to slump into the shadows after a poor match but, equally, she is not a natural left-back. Daly plays as a No 9 for Houston Dash and has deputised for Lucy Bronze at right-back for England in recent years. She is versatile, perhaps the most versatile player in the squad, but the further England progress the greater the test of just how well she has adjusted to the position. Wiegman has options, with Demi Stokes a strong defensive left-back and Alex Greenwood, only recently converted to a centre-back, offering something different when it comes to set pieces.

The possibility of someone dislodging England’s record goalscorer, Ellen White, from her starting berth has been a hot topic throughout the Euros. The impact of Alessia Russo as a substitute has whetted the appetite of those desperate for fresh blood up top. Russo, joint third with France’s Grace Geyoro in the race for the Golden Boot, has scored three times and provided one assist in