The journey of the National Under 19 Women’s team in qualifying for the European Championship begins with a victory. In Brzeg, Italy beats the hosts Poland 2-1 and already places a serious threat on progressing to the next round, given that the top three in the group will qualify for Round 2. The objective is to return this summer to Poland, where the final phase of the continental tournament will be played from 15 to 27 June.
A well-deserved success for the Azzurrine in a match immediately full of emotions. Taking the lead in the 6th minute with a nice diagonal shot Giada Pellegrino CimòMatteucci’s team was joined after two minutes by Poland, scoring with Piekarska, who freed from marking at the far post and headed the free kick kicked by Witek into the net. At 14′ he thinks about it Manuela Sciabica to bring Italy back ahead by taking advantage of a rebound in the opponent’s penalty area at the end of a good team move. It was the decisive goal, also because six minutes from time Pellegrino Cimò had the penalty that would have ended the match early blocked by Polish goalkeeper Wozniak.
“It’s a result that gives us morale – declares coach Nicola Matteucci – I’m very satisfied with everything that went into the match, both for the play we showed and for the ability to suffer that the team demonstrated in the match. central part of the second half, when perhaps we could have managed the ball a little better and we left the initiative to Poland. The girls did well to stay compact and I liked the reaction they had at the end, earning a penalty and coming close to making it 3-1 on another occasion. We were facing a physical and technical opponent and, on an international level, you can’t expect to dominate for ninety minutes.”
The Azzurrine will return to the field on Saturday at 1pm in Brzeg against England, with the knowledge that another victory would guarantee qualification for Round 2: “It is a national team of the highest level – warns Matteucci – we have been preparing for this match for some time. We are confident that we can continue to show quality football, knowing that ours is a technical team and that the unity of purpose between the girls and the staff represents a strong point.”
ITALY-POLAND 2-1 (2-1 pt)
ITALY (3-4-3): Mustafic; Consolini, Cocino, Gallo; Sciabica (from 29’st Gemmi), Testa (from 1’st Fadda), Cherubini, Tosello; Pellegrino Cimò (from 44’st Ventriglia), Ferraresi, Perselli (from 13’st Zamboni). Available: Belli, Pizzuti, Pieri, Gallina, Tironi. All: Matteucci.
POLAND (3-5-2): Wozniak; Witkowska, Lapinska, Piekarska; Sikora (from 1’st Flis), Polrolkniczak (from 24’st Lewicka), Cyraniak, Witek, Guzik (from 24’st Przbyl); Ostrowska (from 1’st Bogucka), Grzywinska. Available: Wieczerzak, Sobierajska, Gutowska. Pagowska, Zielinska. All: Kasprowicz.
Referee: Jelena Pejkovic (Croatia). Assistants: Gordana Katusic (Croatia) and Ekaterina Marinova (Bulgaria). Fourth official: Kristina Georgieva (Bulgaria).
Scorers: 6’pt Pellegrino Cimò (I), 8’pt Piekarska (P), 13’pt Sciabica (I),
Note: in the 39th minute Pellegrino Cimò misses a penalty kick. Ammonite Consolini (I) and Cyraniac (P).
*UEFA WOMEN’S UNDER 19 CHAMPIONSHIP – Group A4
FIRST DAY (27 NOVEMBER)
ITALY-Poland 2-1
England-Türkiye 2-1
Ranking: ITALY and England 3 points, Türkiye and Poland 0.
SECOND DAY (30 NOVEMBER)
12pm: Poland-Türkiye (NYSA)
1pm: England-ITALY (Brzeg)
THIRD DAY (DECEMBER 3)
1pm: Poland-England (Brzeg)
1pm: Türkiye-ITALY (Nysa)
*The top three teams from each League A group qualify for Round 2, while the bottom teams are relegated to League B. The final phase of the European Championship will be played in Poland from 15 to 27 June 2025.