Debuts, excellent pieces of play, celebrations and awards, plus plenty of encouraging signs ahead of upcoming fixtures. Italy Women kicked off their post-European Championship journey with a valuable draw against Japan. The friendly at the Sinigaglia in Como finished 1-1, a scoreline that didn’t quite reflect the Azzurre’s well-drilled performance. They went ahead in the 52nd minute thanks to a fantastic finish from Greggi, who was set up by two back-heels from Severini and Girelli, but the visitors equalised just a few minutes later through former Milan player Hasegawa.

Italy now face another tough test: at 18:15 CET on Tuesday, Andrea Soncin’s side will take on Brazil – no ordinary opponent – at the Stadio Tardini in Parma, with tickets available through Vivaticket outlets and at figc.vivaticket.it. “I’m pleased because tonight we got a lot of positive answers,” the Head Coach said after the match. “Several of the girls were making their debuts, and they performed well against a top-level team. There were some ups and downs, but we defended well, and I’m happy because the pool of players is expanding nicely. In four days, we face a completely different match, and we’ll have the chance to see those who rested today in action.”

THE MATCH. A new season but old habits – at least when it comes to the formation. Soncin stuck with the tried-and-tested 3-5-2, but with Di Guglielmo, Caruso and Giugliano all absent, there were still a few surprises. Giuliani, who was honoured before the match for reaching 100 Italy caps was selected between the sticks. Lining up in front of her were Linari, Lenzini and D’Auria, the latter making her first start. The new, very young midfield trio consisted of Schatzer (also making her full debut), Severini and Greggi, with Oliviero and Bonansea providing support on the wings. Up front, the Head Coach went with Girelli and Corelli, with the Roma player making her first-ever appearance for the Azzurre.

After the tribute to Serturini (who is currently recovering from cruciate ligament surgery) during the team photo, the first applause of the evening went to Italy’s No.1, who joined the very exclusive ‘century club’ in July, alongside Linari, Bonansea and Girelli. Before kick-off, the Milan goalkeeper was honoured in front of her club teammates by Umberto Calcagno, President of the Italian Footballers’ Association (AIC) and FIGC Deputy Vice President, and FIGC General Secretary Marco Brunelli. The match began with more applause, this time for Corelli, who came close to her first goal for Italy, only for her strike to be turned behind for a corner by Yamashita. The Manchester City keeper was called into action again midway through the first half, producing an excellent save to deny Girelli. Japan threatened in the 45th minute as Seike attempted to chip Giuliani, but it finished off target. It was the final noteworthy moment of a very balanced first half.

The first chance after the break fell to Oliviero, but the Lazio winger failed to keep it down. It was the prelude to the Azzurre’s opener, which came in the 52nd minute after a spectacular move involving two back-heels from Severini and Girelli to set up Greggi. The latter then curled a precise right-footed shot into the net for her second Italy goal, much to the delight of the 2300 fans in the stands. To maintain the right intensity, Soncin brought on Salvai, Polli and debutant Monnecchi in the 59th minute, but Japan soon equalised through Hasegawa’s perfectly executed chip over Giuliani. The final half-hour passed without further major action, though Dragoni made her return from injury and Nischler, a Como player, came on for her Azzurre debut.

From tomorrow, the squad, after returning to Coverciano overnight, will focus on the 90 minutes in Parma, where they will aim to beat the Canarinhas for the first time, having lost seven of the previous eight encounters.
 

ITALY 1-1 JAPAN

ITALY (3-5-2): Giuliani; D’Auria, Lenzini (59’ Salvai), Linari; Oliviero, Schatzer, Severini (77’ Tomaselli), Greggi (77’ Dragoni), Bonansea (59’ Monnecchi); Corelli (88’ Nischler), Girelli (59’ Polli). Substitutes: Baldi, Durante, Bergamaschi, Merlo, Cantore, Beccari, Boattin, Cambiaghi, Soffia. Head Coach: Soncin

JAPAN (4-3-3): Yamashita; Takahashi, Koga, Kumagai, Moriya; Matsukubo (46’ Tanikawa), Miyazawa, Hasegawa; Seike (60’ Hamano), Tanaka (76’ Ueki), Fujino. Substitutes: Hirao, Okuma, Shimizu, Minami, Nagano, Shiragaki, Momiki, Endo, Koyama. Head Coach: Nielsen

Referee: Fabienne Michel (Germany); Assistants: Melissa Joos (Germany), Isabel Steinke (Germany); Fourth official: Deborah Bianchi (Italy)

Goals: 52’ Greggi (I), 64’ Hasegawa (G)

Notes: Polli (I) booked. Attendance: 2300.