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Italy’s U-15 women were unable to come back against Switzerland in their first friendly of the season, which ended 2-1 to the Swiss. The match, played at the Novarello Villaggio Azzurro sports centre in Granozzo con Monticello, opened in the 4th minute when Katarina Milosavljevic tapped in from close range. Italy responded almost immediately with an equaliser from Brenda Osemwingie, but before the break Kyra Fahmy scored what proved to be the winner for Carola Fasel’s side. Despite the defeat, Italy delivered a solid performance and will look to bounce back in the return friendly on Thursday at 11:00 CEST.
“I’m very pleased,” said head coach Marco Dessì, “with the girls’ attitude, they showed courage and a strong sense of belonging against a tough, more experienced opponent. Now we need to keep working, with patience and real belief, to continue our journey, starting with the next 90 minutes in two days’ time. The aim is to build a group that can one day compete on the biggest stages. The foundations are there, and credit also goes to the outstanding work done throughout the year by the coaches across the women’s setup.”
MATCH REPORT. It was a frantic start, with plenty happening in the opening minutes. Italy needed just 46 seconds to threaten the opposition goal, but Alice Narcisi’s close-range effort crashed against the crossbar. From the Azzurre’s number 7 to Switzerland’s number 7, who capitalised on an error in Italy’s build-up to make it 1-0. Dessì’s side responded immediately and, less than a minute later, drew level through the lively Osemwingie, who latched onto an assist from Pushuda Siffredi and fired home an unstoppable left-footed strike. However, in the 38th minute the visitors regained the lead: despite an outstanding performance from Sofia Gervasoni, she was beaten from a corner, with Fahmy getting the decisive touch. After the break, Italy, with the fresh legs of the substitutes, threw everything at finding an equaliser, but came up against a resolute Swiss defence.
