Italy are back. The Women’s U17 team, playing in Croatia in Round 2 of the European Championship qualifiers, needed a win to keep their hopes alive – and they delivered. The 3-0 victory in Sisak means Leandri’s side will play for everything when they take on England in their final group match, with both of the group’s fixtures kicking off simultaneously at 12:00 CET. In the other recent game, England beat Croatia 1-0, who had defeated Italy 2-1 on Friday.

Several qualification scenarios remain heading into the decisive matchday: should Italy beat England and Croatia also beat Turkey, creating a three-way tie on six points, Italy would qualify if they win by at least two goals. A one-goal margin would instead require calculations based on goals scored in head-to-head matches or overall goal difference. If Italy win and Croatia fail to beat Turkey, even a narrow victory would be enough to progress.

“We are in a very balanced group, and the results reflect that,” said Leandri. “Today we needed the right approach against a team sitting very deep and focused on defending. The girls did well, showing quality and giving themselves the chance to fight for qualification in the final match.”

Elisa Ciurleo, with two goals in two matches

THE MATCH
Italy registered 21 attempts on goal and took the lead in the first half through a diagonal finish from Ciurleo (Inter). After the break, Battocchio (Juventus) doubled the advantage in the 55th minute, before Guerzoni (Sassuolo) converted from the spot after a foul on Angelica Ferranti (AC Milan) to seal the match. Shortly before the final whistle, Italy also struck the woodwork twice, hitting the crossbar through Pieri and the post with Saccomandi.

ITALY 3-0 TURKEY (HT 1-0)

Italy (3-5-2): Mallardi (Agostini 82’); Galluzzi, Pieri, Andreangeli (Martone 76’); Forney (Sterner 76’), Battocchio (Vianello 64’), Ciccarelli, Guerzoni, Pinchi; Ferranti, Ciurleo (Saccomandi 64’). Subs not used: Rosso, Messa, Cacace. Head coach: Leandri

Turkey (4-1-4-1): Melis Gunes; Isra Sila, Tong (Defne Damla 67’), Elif Berra, Burcu Ozsoy; Agirman (Pehlivan 46’); Gur (Temelkuran 46’), Elvin Balci, Buket Ozsoy (Kaygusuz 67’), Elif Esra Sanli, Demirtas (Dilarasu Pilic 67’). Subs not used: Pektas, Kaplan, Dede, Akcil. Head coach: Demirbag

Goals: 27’ Ciurleo, 55’ Battocchio, 75’ Guerzoni (pen)

Referee: Pingiou (Greece); Assistants: Detsi (Greece), Gacic (Croatia); Fourth official: Rengel (Croatia)

Bookings: Tong (T), Elvin Balci (T), Pieri (I)

GROUP A2 – FIXTURES, RESULTS AND STANDINGS

Matchday 1 (Friday 13 March)
Croatia 2-1 Italy
England 2-1 Turkey

Matchday 2 (Monday 16 March)
England 1-0 Croatia
Italy 3-0 Turkey

Standings: England 6 points, Croatia and Italy 3, Turkey 0

Matchday 3 (Thursday 19 March)
12:00 CET – Italy vs England (Sisak)
12:00 CET – Turkey vs Croatia (Karlovac)