Kelly Smith Women’s Euros column: Backing an England v Germany final

England's bench proving the difference

England passed a character test against Spain. They stood up to the challenge in terms of staying compact and resolute when not having the ball and being outplayed for long spells and that resilience will stand them in such good stead for this semi-final against Sweden.

The belief they have within the squad is incredible. To hear them all saying afterwards they honestly never believed they were going to lose - I thought they were going out as a fan sitting watching!

Once again for England, the difference was the substitutions. They changed the game.

I'm not sure anyone else has that calibre of player - Alex Greenwood, Ella Toone, Alessia Russo, Jill Scott - to be able to completely change the flow of a game.

That's why I can't really see Sarina Wiegman changing her starting XI because she likes both that consistency and the ability to bring on genuine game-changers.

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Wiegman has taken England to next level

England have never had a manager like Sarina before, and it's showing its worth. She's been there and done it.

The calmness she exudes on the touchline is transmitting to the players and that's probably a big reason why they stayed so composed to turn it around against Spain - who else would've had the confidence to take off the leader of the Golden Boot in Beth Mead and England's all-time leading scorer Ellen White and replace them with youngsters in Russo and Toone?

She trusts the players and in return they trust her.

Listen to any interview and the players love her. They have bought in to everything she asks of them, with a big part of it being the information they receive from her in terms of attention to detail.

It's clear from the videos you see on social media too that they're getting that balance right between being prepared and taking the pressure off in a tournament environment by getting away from the game.

Sarina knows all about how to do that having won the last Euros with the Netherlands on home soil.

That's why I can't see the pressure getting to England, and why after three successive major tournament semi-final defeats they should do it this time.

Sweden a threat, but yet to get going

England have bagged up experience as they've gone through the tournament, starting with that opening game in front of nearly 70,000 at Old Trafford where they were edgy but beat Austria 1-0.

It's helped them that they haven't had an easy route through, meaning they're now prepared for do or die matches.

Sweden are ranked second in the world, so on that basis they're the favourites but really we know they aren't.

England will know that they'll be meeting a team who are superbly well-organised defensively and incredibly difficult to break down.

They have players who can hurt you, Fridolina Rolfo has been quiet, Kosovare Asllani was lively against Belgium and Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius - as we know from the WSL - needs to improve.

Credit to them for digging in and eventually scoring to win the quarter-final but the whole team needs to go up a couple of levels if they're to hurt England.

They'll be targeting the transition, and England will be targeting stopping them, as Sweden are so quick on the counter attack with Blackstenius especially a a huge threat. She was very lucky to have a goal disallowed against Belgium by a couple of inches for offside.

If England can get ahead, then Sweden might struggle as they have lacked a bit of movement when teams have defended low. All in all, I just haven't been particularly impressed with them.

England the superior side

For England, playing to their strengths - pressing in the right areas as a front three, keeping the play in the final third of the pitch where they can - will be vital.

If they can win the midfield battle, I think England will win.

• CLICK HERE to back England to beat Sweden with Sky Bet

Keira Walsh perhaps hasn't got the credit she deserves so far, being something of an unsung hero, but she has been phenomenal in he way she has dictated how matches have gone.

Should that happen again it will give the platform for Mead and Lauren Hemp to get on the ball on the flanks and create chances.

If England are still in the game come the second half they have the bench to overpower Sweden when they need to.

I think it'll be tight and cagey but I just can't see England not going through because they're in such a good place mentally and have so much quality.

I know I've mentioned it a lot, but the bench strength they have is just huge in knockout football.

Germany have the edge in second semi

In the other semi-final, Germany and France are both extremely talented teams but it's Germany who I've been more impressed by.

I just love their midfield three and the balance Lina Magull, Lena Oberdorf and Sara Dabritz give them. Alexandra Popp wasn't a starter at the beginning of the tournament but is now after four goals in four games and the experience she has has been invaluable in knitting everything together for them.

Klara Nuhl and Svenja Huth are threatening down the wings too, creating plenty of chances for Popp.

All in all they are just an excellent team, especially as an attacking unit.

France will be a huge threat because losing Marie-Antoinette Katoto, which was a huge blow, didn't seem to massively impact them against the Netherlands, they still created plenty of chances and looked superb.

Wendie Renard leads them brilliantly, all that experience as a Champions League winner, they have quality players throughout the side.

I really like them as a team, but they haven't quite had that same level of consistency as Germany, which is why I'm leaning that way.

An England vs. Germany final, and all the history that has in both men's and women's football, is still the way I'm going.

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