Italy knew the bar would be higher after their opening game against Kosovo, and this evening’s 1-1 draw with Slovenia in Francavilla Fontana on the third matchday of the women’s football tournament at the Mediterranean Games proved just that. The Azzurrine struggled to break down a well-organised Slovenian defence and, despite complete dominance on the pitch and creating the better chances, had to settle for a draw. Italy move up to second place with four points, level with Portugal and three points behind leaders Morocco, who beat Kosovo 4-0 in Brindisi this evening. Oddina and her teammates will return to action at the Iacovone at 21:00 CEST on Thursday to face Morocco in a crucial match for their hopes of reaching the gold-medal final, which will feature the top two teams in the group stage.

DEL PRETE. After the game, coach Priscilla Del Prete reflected: “Once again, we were in control of the match today. We conceded just one shot on target and one goal. It was the kind of game decided by fine margins, and when you’re up against a team sitting deep and you miss that many chances in front of the goal, you’re not going to win. Thursday’s game against Morocco will be a decisive one, a do-or-die match, and it will be vital for us to win.”

THE MATCH. Del Prete made a few changes from the opening game against Kosovo: Agostini started in goal, while Messa replaced Sterner alongside Guerzoni in the midfield pairing and Miraldi led the attack. Ready, set, go: after just two minutes, Miraldi had the first chance, but her effort was kept out by Trunk. Somewhat against the run of play, Slovenia took the lead in the twelfth minute, with Veliscek finishing off a successful counter-attack to make it 1-0. The Azzurrine took a little while to respond, but Martone produced a moment of quality in the 20th minute, beating Trunk with an acrobatic volley for the equaliser. Five minutes later, Ciurleo had the chance to put Italy ahead, but her weak left-footed shot was comfortably saved by the Slovenian goalkeeper.

SECOND HALF. Del Prete subbed out Miraldi and Ciccarelli, replacing them with Pinchi and Pieri at the start of the second half. Eight minutes after the restart, Ciurleo drove into the box and was brought down by a late challenge from Skrobar, resulting in an Italy penalty. Guerzoni stepped up, having scored both of her spot-kicks against Kosovo, but this time she fired over the bar and the score remained 1-1. The Azzurrine kept pressing. Pinchi came close to putting them ahead shortly after the penalty, before Pieri headed narrowly over from a corner in the 59th minute. As the final ten minutes of the game approached, Grassi, who had replaced Ciurleo, had the chance to find the winner with her left foot, but Trunk produced a superb save. Trunk denied Martone once again at the start of the six minutes of added time, and then, at the very last moment, it was Pinchi who failed to convert the final big chance of the match from inside the six-yard box.

ITALY 1-1 SLOVENIA
Italy (4-2-3-1): Agostini; Andreangeli, Rosso, Ciccarelli (Pieri 41’), Oddina; Guerzoni, Messa (Sterner 55’); Ciurleo (Grassi 62’), Martone, Saccomandi; Miraldi (Pinchi 41’). Subs: Pezzi, Cacace, Galluzzi. Coach: Del Prete
Slovenia: Trunk; Lesjak, Kavas, Skrobar (80’), Urankar, Leben (Kosir 53’); Krajnc, Mujezinovic; Pintar; Gjergjek (Pirc 78’), Veliscek. Subs: Globocnik, Hvala, Rupnik, Murovec. Coach: Kelenberger
Goals: 12’ Veliscek (S), 20’ Martone (I)
Referee: Koci (Albania); Assistants: Iliev (North Macedonia), Cvetanovikj (North Macedonia); Fourth official: Carpentiere (Italy)
Notes: Messa (I), Martone (I), Rosso (I), Skrobar (S) booked; Kelenberger (A) sent off

Women’s football tournament

Single group stage: Portugal, Morocco, ITALY, Slovenia, Kosovo

Fixtures and results
Matchday 1, Saturday 22 August
Slovenia 0-4 Morocco
Portugal 3-0 Kosovo

Matchday 2, Sunday 23 August
Portugal 2-2 Morocco
Italy 4-1 Kosovo

Matchday 3, Tuesday 25 August
Morocco 4-0 Kosovo
Italy 1-1 Slovenia

Standings after matchday 3
Morocco 7, Italy and Portugal 4, Kosovo and Slovenia 0

Matchday 4, Thursday 27 August
Portugal vs. Slovenia, 21:00 CEST | Brindisi
Italy vs. Morocco, 21:00 CEST | Taranto

Matchday 5, Saturday 29 August
Slovenia vs. Kosovo, 18:00 CEST | Brindisi
Portugal vs. Italy, 18:00 CEST | Taranto

Finals, Monday 31 August
Third place, 10:30 CEST | Brindisi
First place, 19:00 CEST | Taranto