Latest news with #Azzurre
Kuwait Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
Italy join Spain in Women's Euro quarter-finals
BERN: Italy reached the quarter-finals of Women's Euro 2025 on Friday despite losing 3-1 to Group B winners Spain, the Azzurre finishing ahead of rivals Portugal whose tournament ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Belgium. Athenea, Patri Guijarro and Esther Gonzalez scored the goals in Bern for Spain who finished the group stage on a perfect nine points, five ahead of second-placed Italy who will face Norway in the last eight on Wednesday. 'We had one key objective and that was to get through,' said Andrea Soncin who has taken Italy to the last eight of the women's Euros for the first time since 2013. 'We can still develop and there is a gap between us and Spain, but you saw that with good organization we can compete. 'Obviously they have really great players who regardless of how organized you are can mess everything up for you, but we're very happy to have qualified.' Spain meanwhile will take on hosts Switzerland in a week's time as they aim to follow up their World Cup win with a first-ever Euros triumph. Montse Tome's team scored 14 times in three group matches, just four fewer goals they scored in Australia and New Zealand two years ago. 'We will make the most of the time, adapt so that the players have time to rest physically and mentally, and also have some fun,' said Tome. 'I hope we manage to keep doing what we are doing because we won three games from three, and it's the first time Spain have done this.' Italy, who took the lead through Elisabetta Oliviero in the 10th minute, ended the group stage one point ahead of third-placed Belgium who snatched a last-gasp win in Sion through Janice Cayman. Belgium were already eliminated before kick-off and only Portugal had a chance of overtaking Italy heading into the final round of Group B fixtures. Italy through But Soncin's Italy started the game knowing that a defeat would have likely been enough for a spot in the quarters even if Portugal beat Belgium due to the significant goal difference gap between the two teams. Three points separated Italy and Portugal at kick-off and Italian fans were able to relax when Tessa Wullaert stuck out her left leg to guide home Jill Janssens' low cross and put Belgium ahead in the third minute. Shortly afterwards Elena Linari thumped a header against the crossbar from Manuela Giugliano's corner, and then Oliviero gave Italy a shock lead by pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area after some poor defending from Spain. But Spain soon began to assert their dominance and four minutes later Athenea brought them level with a wonderful goal, dribbling towards the edge of the area before exchanging passes with Alexia Putellas and curling home a superb finish. The Spanish continued to have the lion's share of possession but Italy were dangerous on the break, with Martina Piemonte, up front in place of Cristiana Girelli, shanked wide when clean through on goal. And Barbara Bonansea headed over Sofia Cantore's cross two minutes before the break as Italy pushed to retake the lead. But Spain were deservedly in front three minutes after the break through Patri whose sliced first-time finish crept past Italy goalkeeper Laura Giulinani. Spain poured forward and added a third in stoppage time through Esther Gonzalez. But it mattered little by that point as even though Telma Encarnacao levelled late for Portugal, Cayman lashed home a loose ball in the 96th minute to give Belgium a thrilling win after they had two goals chalked off by VAR. Italy's players jumped and hugged once Belgium's success was confirmed, before basking in the applause of their travelling support. — AFP
The 42
a day ago
- Sport
- The 42
Italy join Spain in Euro 2025 quarter-finals
ITALY REACHED the quarter-finals of Women's Euro 2025 on Friday, despite losing 3-1 to Group B winners Spain, the Azzurre finishing ahead of rivals Portugal, whose tournament ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat to Belgium. Athenea, Patri Guijarro and Esther Gonzalez scored the goals in Bern for Spain, who finished the group stage on a perfect nine points, five ahead of second-placed Italy, who will face Norway in the last eight on Wednesday. Spain, meanwhile, will take on hosts Switzerland in a week as they aim to follow up their World Cup win two years ago with a first-ever Euros triumph. Italy, who took the lead through Elisabetta Oliviero in the 10th minute, ended the group stage one point ahead of third-placed Belgium, who snatched a last-gasp win in Sion through Janice Cayman. Belgium were already eliminated before kick-off, and only Portugal had a chance of overtaking Italy heading into the final round of Group B fixtures. Advertisement But Andrea Soncin's Italy started the game knowing that a defeat would have likely been enough for a spot in the quarters, even if Portugal beat Belgium due to the significant goal difference gap between the two teams. Three points separated Italy and Portugal at kick-off, and Italian fans were able to relax when Tessa Wullaert stuck out her left leg to guide home Jill Janssens' low cross and put Belgium ahead in the third minute. Shortly afterwards, Elena Linari thumped a header against the crossbar from Manuela Giugliano's corner, and then Oliviero gave Italy a shock lead by pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area after some poor defending from Spain. But Spain soon began to assert their dominance, and four minutes later Athenea brought them level with a wonderful goal, dribbling towards the edge of the area before exchanging passes with Alexia Putellas and curling home a superb finish. The Spanish continued to have the lion's share of possession, but Italy were dangerous on the break, with Martina Piemonte, up front in place of Cristiana Girelli, shanked wide when clean through on goal. And Barbara Bonansea headed over Sofia Cantore's cross two minutes before the break as Italy pushed to retake the lead. But Spain were deservedly in front three minutes after the break through Patri, whose sliced first-time finish crept past Italy goalkeeper Laura Giulinani. Spain poured forward and added a third in stoppage time through Esther Gonzalez. But it mattered little by that point as, even though Telma Encarnacao levelled late for Portugal, Cayman lashed home a loose ball in the 96th minute to give Belgium a thrilling win after they had two goals chalked off by VAR. Italy's players jumped and hugged once Belgium's success was confirmed, before basking in the applause of their travelling support. – © AFP 2025
CNA
a day ago
- Sport
- CNA
Italy banish old ghosts to make Women's Euro quarter-finals
Italy may have suffered a 3-1 defeat in their final Women's Euros Group B game against Spain on Friday, but the result still allowed them to progress to the knockout stage of the competition, prompting tears of joy from coach Andrea Soncin. A 1-0 win over Belgium seemed to get the tournament off to a perfect start for the Azzurre but a 1-1 draw with Portugal in their second game, with Spain still to play, made for a few nervous days in the Italian camp. In the end, Portugal were beaten 2-1 by Belgium, allowing the Italians to finish second on four points and set up a meeting with Group A winners Norway in Geneva next Wednesday. "It is an indescribable emotion, sorry, because I don't even know what words to use. It's something magical, this is the passion we all put into it," a tearful Soncin told Italian broadcaster RAI. "We wanted to write the story, we are doing it, our dream continues because we want to stay here in Switzerland for a long time." Soncin's side took the lead in the 10th minute but they were then dominated by Spain for the remainder of the contest, unable to build any threatening attacks with the precious little possession they managed. "There is so much joy, so much emotion. The credit goes entirely to the girls, because after the draw with Portugal it wasn't easy to pick ourselves back up," Soncin explained. "Many ghosts from the past had emerged but, as they have done for the past two years with me, they immediately pushed them aside." Italy goal-scorer Elisabetta Oliviero summed up her side's qualification for the last eight in poetic terms.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Italy can hurt rampant Spain, says coach Soncin
Andrea Soncin (C) has been in charge of Italy's women's team since 2023 (Fabrice COFFRINI) Andrea Soncin insisted Thursday that his Italy team can hurt Spain ahead of their showdown with the world champions, who have so far laid waste to everything in front of them in Switzerland. Italy sit second in Group B, two points behind Spain and three above third-paced Portugal, meaning anything but defeat in Bern will guarantee them a spot in the quarter-finals. Advertisement Soncin is convinced his team can do Spain damage after an impressive draw with La Roja in October and a positive Nations League campaign. "It was a different situation (the 1-1 draw last year) but we know them well," said Soncin. "We're a well-organised team when we have to face a team like Spain, a team that keeps the ball a lot... we need to be very precise when we have the ball at our feet "We have skills, personality and quality in our team and there are plenty of positions from which we can hurt Spain's defence. "We've played them a few times since I took charge... so we know each other well and we respect them hugely but we're convinced that we can achieve our goal which is to reach the next round." Advertisement Italy have the luxury of being able to qualify even if they lose, as the Azzurre have a goal difference which is six better than Portugal who face eliminated Belgium. Soncin's team have the second best defensive record in the tournament with one goal conceded and are also second behind Spain for shots on target despite only scoring twice. But Spain have rattled in 11 goals in two matches and so far have looked a level above every other team in the tournament, meaning a significant swing in Italy and Portugal's goal difference is far from impossible. "Let's hope we can maintain it (the defensive record) tomorrow," said forward Arianna Caruso. Advertisement "We need to be more accurate in front of goal because we get plenty of players forward often enough, so if we defend well we manage to score goals I don't see why we can't progress." td/bsp
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Italy can hurt rampant Spain, says coach Soncin
Italy sit second in Group B, two points behind Spain and three above third-paced Portugal, meaning anything but defeat in Bern will guarantee them a spot in the quarter-finals. Soncin is convinced his team can do Spain damage after an impressive draw with La Roja in October and a positive Nations League campaign. "It was a different situation (the 1-1 draw last year) but we know them well," said Soncin. "We're a well-organised team when we have to face a team like Spain, a team that keeps the ball a lot... we need to be very precise when we have the ball at our feet "We have skills, personality and quality in our team and there are plenty of positions from which we can hurt Spain's defence. "We've played them a few times since I took charge... so we know each other well and we respect them hugely but we're convinced that we can achieve our goal which is to reach the next round." Italy have the luxury of being able to qualify even if they lose, as the Azzurre have a goal difference which is six better than Portugal who face eliminated Belgium. Soncin's team have the second best defensive record in the tournament with one goal conceded and are also second behind Spain for shots on target despite only scoring twice. But Spain have rattled in 11 goals in two matches and so far have looked a level above every other team in the tournament, meaning a significant swing in Italy and Portugal's goal difference is far from impossible. "Let's hope we can maintain it (the defensive record) tomorrow," said forward Arianna Caruso. "We need to be more accurate in front of goal because we get plenty of players forward often enough, so if we defend well we manage to score goals I don't see why we can't progress."
