After two weeks of training, the Women’s National Team will leave Brunico in the afternoon to begin their trip to Holland. This evening they will fly to Maastricht, from there they will transfer to nearby Sittard, a town in the south of the Netherlands where on Friday (8:45 p.m., Rai Sport) the Azzurre will face the home team, first with a two-point advantage over Norway and Italy, in the penultimate round of the EURO 2025 qualifying round.
At the Fortuna Stadion, they will need unity, courage and – as the name of the facility suggests – also a pinch of good luck, which has been lacking in the last two matches against Norway. And it is precisely the team coached by Gemma Grainger that Italy, currently third due to a worse goal difference, will have to overtake in the last 180 minutes of Group 1 to obtain direct passage to the continental tournament, which is awarded to the top two teams in each group in League A. It will therefore be essential to score points against the Oranje, to avoid finishing 3 points behind the Scandinavians (expected on Friday of the match on the pitch of Finland) and having to hope for a miracle in the last round, which will be played on Tuesday.
This morning, the 33 players available to Andrea Soncin had their last training session at the headquarters in Riscone, focusing – as has been the case for a few days now – on tactical tests against the Netherlands. Tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. the final training session is scheduled in the 12,500-seat stadium that will host the match, with the coach having the opportunity to take care of the last details and decide which 23 girls will take part in the challenge that will determine the fate of the group.
Doorman: Rachele Baldi (Fiorentina), Laura Giuliani (Milan), Katja Schroffenegger (Fiorentina), Margot Shore (Hellas Verona)
Defenders: Elisa Bartoli (Roma), Valentina Bergamaschi (Juventus), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Roma), Maria Luisa Filangeri, Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (Roma), Elisabetta Oliviero, Julie Piga (Milan), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Angelica Soffia (Milan)
Midfielders: Arianna Caruso (Juventus), Giulia Dragoni (Barcelona), Aurora Galli, Manuela Giugliano (Rome), Giada Greggi (Rome), Eva Schatzer (Juventus), Emma Severini (Fiorentina)
Attackers: Chiara Beccari (Juventus), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Agnese Bonfantini (Juventus), Michela Cambiaghi (Inter), Sofia Cantore (Juventus), Michela Catena (Fiorentina), Valentina Giacinti (Roma), Benedetta Glionna (Roma), Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Martina Piemonte (Everton), Annamaria Serturini (Inter)
Group 1 (League A) Fixtures, Results and Standings
First day: ITALY-Netherlands 2-0, Norway-Finland 4-0
Second day: Finland-ITALY 2-1, Netherlands-Norway 1-0
Third day: Norway-ITALY 0-0, Netherlands-Finland 1-0
Day 4: Finland-Netherlands 1-1, ITALY-Norway 1-1
Fifth day (July 12): Finland-Norway (19:00 local time, 18:00 Italian time, Turku), Netherlands-ITALY (20:45, Sittard)
Sixth day (July 16): ITALY-Finland (7pm, Bolzano), Norway-Netherlands (7pm, Bergen)
Ranking: Netherlands 7 points, Norway and ITALY 5, Finland 4