England Women were held to a 1-1 draw by Italy Women during their friendly at Vale Park on Friday night.

The Lionesses took the lead midway through the second-half after Jodie Taylor lobbed the goalkeeper with a powerful half volley.

Valentina Cernoia made England’s lead short lived, equalising three minutes later with a clinical finish from the edge of the penalty area.

The game was overshadowed by a very serious injury suffered by Italy and Fiorentina midfielder Alice Parisi. The injury happened midway through the first-half following a strong 50-50 challenge with England and Chelsea defender Millie Bright. Parisi was rushed to hospital following the incident.

England manager Mark Sampson was unable to secure victory in his 50th game in charge of the Lionesses.

Both England and Italy will be featuring in this summer’s Women’s European Championships in the Netherlands.

Prior to the friendly against Italy and their upcoming friendly against Austria on Monday, Sampson named his squad for the Euros in July.

In the build up to the tournament, Shoot! looks at five players that must start for England at this summer’s championships…

Steph Houghton

The England Women’s captain and Manchester City Ladies skipper is a natural leader at the heart of the defence.

She led out the Lionesses during their 1-1 draw against Italy on Friday night.

She currently has 67 international caps to her name, making her England’s sixth most internationally experienced player that is currently in the squad for this summer’s Women’s Euros; only Fara Williams, Alex Scott, Casey Stoney, Karen Carney and Jill Scott have more England caps than her.

She is an instrumental part of the defence and without a doubt, Houghton will be one of the first names on Mark Sampson’s teamsheet in Holland.

Jill Scott

Central midfielder Jill Scott is one of few Lionesses to have received over 100 international caps.

Currently on 103, the Manchester City Ladies player is a top class playmaker, who excels consistently for both club and country.

The 30-year-old started the match against Italy and she played a key role for the entirety of the game.

She will be a pivotal part of this summer’s championships and England manager Sampson will have no trouble in picking star-woman Scott.

Lucy Bronze

The attacking minded full-back has proved time and time again why she has 27 caps for her country.

Her desire to go forward, combined with her solidarity at the back has helped her to become England’s first choice right-back in recent years.

Her goalscoring form for Manchester City recently has been fantastic. Bronze got City’s only goal in their 1-0 victory in the Women’s Champions League quarter final second leg against Fortuna Hjorring.

Bronze also got City’s late Women’s FA Cup fifth round winner in their 1-0 victory against Reading Ladies three weeks ago.

If Bronze keeps performing at the level she has been recently, Sampson will find it almost impossible to drop her in the Netherlands this summer.

Jordan Nobbs

The Arsenal Ladies midfielder was awarded the man of the match honour during their draw against Italy on Friday. Nobbs’ ability as a box-to-box midfielder is first class.

She came close to scoring for the Lionesses on a number of occasions in the first-half against the Italians.

With both Nobbs performing very well recently, the rest of the England squad have a tricky challenge to try and get a starting place over her in the Netherlands.

Karen Carney

The Chelsea Ladies winger put in a good display at Vale Park on Friday.

Her creativity proved to be key for the Lionesses in the second-half, with her vision and passing ability directly leading to a number of good chances.

The 30-year-old has already featured in seven major tournaments for her country.

Her experience will be key for England this summer as they bid to be crowned European champions.