That's because in six previous meetings in the tournament or qualifying, dating back to 1987/88, England have never won.
One draw and five losses with a goal difference of 13-6 in favour of Le Azzurre means history is very much against the Lionesses.
A small crumb of comfort that the defending champions may be able to draw upon before the semi-final is that they were 5-1 winners in a February 2024 friendly against them in Spain.
Furthermore, Italy have only ever reached the final twice before in 1993 and 1997, losing both.
In their last semi-final appearance, Italy were 2-1 winners against Spain in 1997; however, that was only their second win in their six last-four ties.
Last-gasp Italy make it through
It was only thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Cristiana Girelli in their 2-1 win against Norway that they were able to progress in this year's competition too.
All three of her goals in the tournament have come at the Stade de Geneve, where the semi-final takes place, and her brace in the quarter-final there meant that at 35 years and 84 days old, she became the oldest player to score two goals in a Women's Euro finals match.
The 35-year-old, playing at her last European Championship and clearly wanting to bow out on a high, is in confident form.
"They're (England) the reigning champions and we have a great respect for them because they've got players who can change the game when they want to," she said.
"But we have a lot of faith that we can get a result against any team.
"He (Andrea Soncin, Italy's manager) always tells us to play with courage and to play football because we have the quality to do so, and both the results and performances at the moment show that."
Battle-hardened England ready for the challenge
After the chaotic brilliance of England's quarter-final win over Sweden, the first time a team had overturned a two-goal deficit in a Women's Euro knockout tie, there's little doubt that Sarina Wiegman and her staff would prefer a much easier path into the showpiece against either Spain or Germany.
“I’m just thinking about how this team turned it around again and how this team showed resilience," she said after the "crazy" game against the Swedes.
“Sometimes we say we’re never done. Well, tonight, we showed we’re absolutely never done."
Lauren Hemp agreed: "It just shows the depth within the squad. We've got a fantastic group of players - anyone can come on and change a game. It's incredible to have players like that around the group."
It's that never-say-die spirit that has underscored England's run to the semis, and which they'll be hoping will stand them in good stead as they look to rewrite history.
Wiegman hoping for hat-trick of titles
Wiegman, in charge since September 2021, remains the only coach to win the Euros with two different countries following her 2017 success with the Netherlands, and will be hopeful of making it a hat-trick of titles if her squad continue to defy the odds.
So far, 13 different Lionesses have got themselves on the score sheet and in so doing, England have become the first team to score 10+ goals in three separate Women's Euros group stages, having done so previously in 2017 and 2022.
Alessia Russo, as expected, has found the net at the tournament, and she is also currently joint second for most assists after setting up three goals against the Netherlands.
Lauren James, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone have a brace each, though all lag behind Spain's Esther Gonzalez, who has four to date.
Coincidentally, both teams are featuring in their seventh semi, though England have reached this stage in four of the last five tournaments. They've also reached at least the semi-finals in every Women's European Championship and World Cup since 2015.
In four of Italy's previous six participations at the Women's Euros, they've not made it out of the group - and that's including 2017 and 2022.
Goals virtually guaranteed
Italy have opened the scoring in all four of their matches to date in the 2025 tournament, and with all of England's last 38 Women's Euro finals games having featured at least one goal, the Lionesses should be on their guard for a fast start.
For any number of reasons, there is another fascinating game in prospect. Will the Lionesses make it to their second final in succession, or will Le Azzurre tread the path they last managed some 28 years ago? Game on!
Follow England vs Italy from 20:00 GMT on Tuesday with Flashscore.
