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Fantastic, extraordinary. There almost aren’t enough adjectives to describe the journey of the Italy Women's U20 National Team, who beat South Korea 3-1 at the U20 World Cup to book their place in the semi-finals. The result sends them into the final four of the tournament, but the way the victory was secured makes it even more significant, with the game never in doubt given Italy's dominance on the pitch, not even when South Korea levelled shortly before half-time. After the break, the Azzurrine turned their evident technical and territorial superiority into goals, with Appiah scoring again. She had already found the net in the first half and took her tournament tally to four goals. Fadda then sealed the win with a superb long-range strike, her third goal of the tournament. Not bad for a midfielder…
Head coach Nicola Matteucci’s emotion was clear when he spoke after the game: “Sandro Mazzola is at the forefront of my mind, and our thoughts are with his family after the loss of a great person and a great Azzurro. The girls gave everything they had, with a huge desire to reach the semi-finals. It's not easy when you concede in your best spell, when you're controlling the game… but the girls were able to regroup and react, showing great maturity. That's what I liked most.”
A smile lit up Karen Appiah's face after she was named player of the match by FIFA: “It's an incredible feeling… I have no words to describe what's happening,” Karen told the press immediately after the final whistle. “We are a great group,” she added, “and I dedicate this semi-final place to this team, a fantastic team.”
Now Italy head back to Lodz, where they played all three of their group-stage matches. It seemed almost unthinkable at the start of the tournament, but the Azzurrine will return to the city where the semi-finals and final will be played. The penultimate stage of the tournament against the winners of Spain vs. Brazil will be held on Wednesday 23 September at 15:00 CEST.
The match. Compared to the round of 16 win over China on penalties, Matteucci made three changes to his starting XI, with Lombardi and Tosello taking the wide positions and Cocino returning to the back line, while Venturelli moved into central defence in place of Bressan, who was suspended. The changes were almost inevitable after the intense 120 minutes played on Wednesday, allowing some players to rest while leaving plenty of attacking options available on the bench. Wearing black armbands in memory of Azzurro great Sandro Mazzola, Gallo and her team-mates made the perfect start, with Lombardi looking confident both defensively and going forward. After just six minutes, Appiah had the first chance of the match, with the Korean goalkeeper making another save from the Cesena striker two minutes later. Before the ten minute mark, Jeong had already made three decisive interventions, but Italy inevitably took the lead in the 16th minute. Appiah did brilliantly to glance Pellegrino Cimò's precise cross from the left towards the far post and into the net. The game was beginning to resemble a one-sided affair, with South Korea struggling to make an impact in Italy's half while the Azzurrine continued to push forward despite already being ahead. Midway through the first half, Park's side changed their approach and the game became more even, although Belli was still rarely troubled. Then, with three minutes remaining before the break, South Korea equalised out of nowhere: Jung's free-kick from 40 metres struck the post, before Haeun reacted quickest to the rebound from close range to make it 1-1. The goal was scored by the Asian side's No. 9, who shares both her first and last name, Lee Haeun, with her No. 10 team-mate. For convenience, the two are also distinguished within the team as Haeun (9) and Hauen L. (10).
At the start of the second half, Italy resumed control of the game and immediately regained the lead, with Appiah once again on target, turning Fadda's corner into the net with a first-time finish three minutes after the restart. On the hour, Matteucci made his first changes, bringing Galli on alongside Appiah in attack and Consolini onto the wing. Soon afterwards came the 3-1, as Fadda fired a precise and powerful long-range effort to restore Italy's two-goal advantage. The rest of the match was almost a formality, although there were still 30 minutes to play. At least, that was the feeling, with Italy in clear control and the game never in doubt. See you on Wednesday in Lodz: the desire to keep surprising is still as strong as ever.
South Korea 1-3 Italy (1-1 at half-time)
SOUTH KOREA: Kim C.; Cheon S. (38'st Park Jiyu), Jung, Nam, Yoon; Beom (1'st Park Juha), Han, Jin (20'st Baek); Jo, Haeun (45'st Shin), Haeun L. (20'st Choi). Subs: Jeong, Kim Y., Maeng, Kim M., Kim G. Head coach: Park Younjeong
ITALY: Belli; Cocino, Venturelli, Gallo (35'st Bressan); Lombardi, Fadda (35'st Langella), Cherubini, Catena (23'st Sciabica), Tosello (16'st Consolini); Pellegrino Cimò (16'st Galli), Appiah. Subs: Tornaghi, Di Nallo, Ventriglia, Testa, Zamboni, Langella. Head coach: Matteucci
Referee: Arruela (PER). Assistant referees: Vasquez (CIL) and Aquino (PER). Fourth official: Rissios (CIL)
Goals: 16' and 48’ Appiah, 42' Haeun, 63’ Fadda
Notes – Added time: 1' first half, 3' second half
Quarter-final results and fixtures
Saturday 19 September
South Korea 1-3 Italy
18:30 CEST, Brazil vs. Spain (Sosnowiec)
Sunday 20 September
15:00 CEST, Nigeria vs. Colombia (Lodz)
18:30 CEST, North Korea (Lodz)
The squad selected for the World Cup
Goalkeepers: Elena Belli (Inter), Erica Di Nallo (Vicenza), Lavinia Tornaghi (AC Milan);
Defenders: Martina Bressan (Inter), Martina Cocino (Aarau), Lidia Consolini (Inter), Azzurra Gallo (Tolosa), Emma Lombardi (Fiorentina), Martina Tosello (Cesena), Caterina Venturelli (Sassuolo);
Midfielders: Giada Catena (Res Donna Roma), Maya Cherubini (Fiorentina), Paola Fadda (Sassuolo), Gabriella Langella (Napoli Women), Sofia Testa (Ternana Women), Marta Zamboni (Como Women);
Forwards: Karen Appiah (Cesena), Giulia Galli (Barcellona), Giada Pellegrino Cimò (Roma), Manuela Sciabica (Lazio), Rosanna Ventriglia (Ternana Women).
Staff – Head coach: Nicola Matteucci; methodology coach: Fabio Andolfo; assistant coach: Erika Lisi; goalkeeping coach: Mattia Volpi; fitness coaches: Lorenzo Corsi and Vincenzo Piermatteo; match analyst: Alessandro Rossi; doctors: Michela Cammarano and Andrea Gattelli; physiotherapists: Marco Fiore and Eugenio Zarcone; nutritionist: Vito Flavio Valletta; secretary: Aurora Leo.