The Italy Women’s Under-20 National Team made history: on their Under-20 World Cup debut, Italy made a comeback to beat the USA 2-1 after a performance full of initiative and without any sense of inferiority against one of the teams most widely tipped to win the tournament. The Azzurrine had last competed in this youth competition 14 years ago, in 2012, and they had never previously won a game at the finals. This afternoon, in the cold Polish city of Lodz, they secured a deserved victory against a National Team which is one of the sport’s global benchmarks.

It was a victory built on a united group who executed the game plan perfectly and never sat back, neither when trailing nor after taking the lead. Azzurra Gallo, the captain whose name seems destined to wear the armband, beamed with the Player of the Match award in her hands. Like all her teammates, she produced a performance full of commitment and concentration, with some excellent technical touches. And then, speaking like a true leader, she said: “I’m proud of everyone, from the first girl to the last, and of the staff too. We know that at international level it’s the group that makes the difference and that it’s vital to help each other when it gets tough. It’s all really beautiful.”

“I’m really proud of the girls, and of the way they approached the match,” coach Matteucci said after the final whistle. “We knew we couldn’t dominate for 90 minutes and that we would have to suffer at times, but we had prepared for that. The girls handled every situation as well as they could, taking their chances with great courage and technical quality. Italy played with personality from the first minute to the last.”

After the USA took the lead and Italy came back through Fadda and Pellegrino Cimò, the only real moment of concern arrived in the third and final minute of stoppage time, when a late USA equaliser was ruled out for offside, with VAR confirming the decision after several intense, and seemingly endless, seconds. Then the celebrations could begin. The next game is on Wednesday at 15:00 CEST (live on Rai Sport) against New Zealand, who only lost to Japan in the other group game in stoppage time. It will be another match to approach with energy and enthusiasm.

The match. Matteucci brought Bressan into the heart of his defence and deployed Galli as a left wing-back, while the attacking duo was formed by Appiah’s explosiveness and Pellegrino Cimò’s creativity. For the USA, the decision to start striker Buck on the bench was a big surprise.

The USA’s game plan was clear from the outset, with defensive aggression and a search for their attacking wide players who are very quick and skilful in one-on-one situations. Italy, however, created the first major chance of the match before five minutes had been played: a quick counter led by Galli ended with Appiah putting a good ball into Pellegrino Cimò’s path, but she could not make contact from a great position. The Azzurrine showed good ideas and some interesting attacking combinations, but in the 18th minute, it was the USA who opened the scoring thanks to a solo run from Adames. After a fine dribble, she cut through the defence with a low cross that Johnson only had to turn into the net. The American No. 11 was full of confidence and two minutes later forced an excellent reaction save from Belli, who tipped her effort from the edge of the box onto the crossbar. After that setback, Matteucci’s side regrouped, with Fadda’s drive in midfield repeatedly causing problems for the Americans. Around the half-hour mark, the Azzurrine created two good chances. The first saw Appiah send Pellegrino Cimò through, highlighting the excellent understanding between the two, while shortly afterwards the AC Milan striker looked for the equaliser with a header from a cross on the right.

Italy played the game openly, matching the Americans blow for blow despite the USA having already won the category twice in their history. Then, in the 40th minute, the deserved equaliser arrived following a magnificent counter-attack started by Tosello and carried forward by Pellegrino Cimò. The playmaker slipped Appiah through and, after an effective save by the American goalkeeper, Fadda reacted quickest to fire home. The score at half-time was 1-1.

Italy dominated possession at the start of the second half, and in the 14th minute, Galli won the ball in the opposition half before unleashing her pace. Her cross shot prompted an inaccurate intervention from the American goalkeeper, allowing Pellegrino Cimò to pounce on the rebound. It was 2-1, and the comeback was complete with half an hour still to play, which felt like eternity. Yet Italy managed the game with tactical awareness and a desire to surprise, looking to avoid dropping too deep. Catena and Zamboni, followed by Sciabica and Langella, all made an immediate impact off the bench, adding further dynamism to the Azzurrine. In the 32nd minute, Buck, another substitute, this time for the opposition, showed her quality, although Belli kept out her diagonal effort. The Azzurrine remained compact and avoided taking risks. Then, whilst waiting for the referee’s final whistle so the celebrations could begin, a wake-up call arrived: in the third and final minute of stoppage time, the USA produced a sudden effort from 20 metres away that struck the post, and Strawn reacted quickest to the rebound to score what appeared to be the equaliser. The assistant referee raised the flag for offside, but the seconds that followed seemed endless as everyone waited for VAR confirmation. It eventually came, with Matteucci breathing a huge sigh of relief. History had been made, and there would be no late twist.

USA 1-2 Italy (1-1 HT)

USA: Birkel; Alvarez, Boamah, Bard, Scott (46’ Johnson E.); Ullmark, Fuller, McCammon, Johnson M.; Adames, McKeen (58’ Buck). Subs: Osteen, Titmuss, Munson, Cecil, Nguyen, Touray, Strawn, Joseph. Coach: Jepson

ITALY: Belli; Cocino, Bressan, Gallo; Tosello, Testa, Cherubini (79’ Langella), Fadda (64’ Catena), Galli; Appiah (68’ Zamboni), Pellegrino Cimò (79’ Sciabica). Subs: Tornaghi, Di Nallo, Consolini, Ventriglia, Lombardi. Coach: Matteucci

Referee: Reibelt (AUS). Assistants: Kocbek (USA) and Allum (AUS). Fourth official: Rissios

Goals: 18’ Johnson, 40’ Fadda, 59’ Pellegrino Cimò

Notes: Appiah and Strawn booked. Added time: 2’, 3’

 

Azzurrine stun USA: Italy Women’s Under-20 National Team make a comeback and win

 

World Cup squad list

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 – Coach: Nicola Matteucci; methodology coach: Fabio Andolfo; assistant coach: Erika Lisi; goalkeeper 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.

Group D: results, standings and fixtures

Sunday 6 September
Japan 2-1 New Zealand
USA 1-2 Italy

Wednesday 9 September
Italy vs. New Zealand, 15:00 CEST (live on Rai Sport)
Japan vs. USA, 18:00 CEST

Saturday 12 September
Italy vs. Japan, 15:00 CEST (live on Rai Sport)
New Zealand vs. USA, 15:00 CEST

Standings: Japan and Italy 3 points, USA and New Zealand 0

World Cup groups

Group A: Poland, Argentina, Mexico, Benin
Group B: Brazil, Tanzania, Canada, England
Group C: France, South Korea, Ecuador, Ghana
Group D: Japan, New Zealand, USA, ITALY
Group E: North Korea, Portugal, Costa Rica, Colombia
Group F: Spain, Nigeria, New Caledonia, China