I have never been to Geneva before, but the sight of large crowds of England fans gathered outside a pub on a sunny, hot Tuesday afternoon was both unexpected and exhilarating. The air was filled with chants of "come on England," accompanied by the rhythmic beat of a drum and the melodic tones of a trumpet. Shouts of "Sarina" echoed through the crowd, a heartfelt tribute to England's manager, Sarina Wiegman.

Among the fans, I met Lisa and Jen, who had been in Geneva since Thursday after spending four days hiking in the Alps. "Down here it's a bit busier, as you can imagine, but we're really enjoying it," said Lisa, who will be celebrating her 50th birthday next week. If England beats Italy, she might be marking this milestone on the same day as the final. "Fingers crossed eh," she added. Both women are fortunate to have tickets to the semi-final and are thrilled to support their team.

"I'm probably going to get quite emotional," Lisa admitted. Kerry, Chrissy, and Charlotte, who met through the tournament, are also eagerly anticipating the match. "Everyone's really friendly, so you can sort of just talk to anyone," Chrissy said. "It's been more emotional than I was expecting. Last week's game [the quarter-final] really took it out of us."

Chrissy wasn't alone in feeling the stress of the nail-biting quarter-final against Sweden. Other fans described it as an "emotional rollercoaster" but were elated that the Lionesses emerged victorious. Charlotte, who developed a love for the sport during the Euro 2022 final when England defeated Germany, expressed her excitement. "I'm just really excited to kind of go through those emotions again and this time be really passionate about it," she said.

Manish, a resident of Bern who supports England, and Stephen, a British national, also met for the first time at the Euros. "It's an amazing place. Great country, great people, great hospitality, it's been wonderful," Stephen remarked.

Fans are particularly supportive of defender Jess Carter, who has faced racist abuse on social media throughout the tournament. Carter will be replaced in the semi-final starting line-up by Esme Morgan. "All of the Lionesses... we are truly behind them," Jen affirmed.

Chrissy shared her support for the England team's decision not to take the knee before matches. On Sunday, England's players announced they would stand at kick-off instead, stating it was "clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism."