Mission accomplished. The Azzurre beat Serbia 3-0 thanks to a sensational second half following a challenging and goalless first half. In Pisa, the Azzurre raced to the crowd at full-time to share in the celebrations after a match of two halves: a slow and difficult opening 45 minutes in which the visitors looked like the stronger side, followed by a second half where Girelli and her squad’s strengths fully emerged. The Azzurre created countless chances and sealed a clear victory to the sound of thunderous applause from the stands.

Now, to secure direct qualification for the World Cup in Brazil, Italy must beat Sweden on Tuesday, and Serbia must beat Denmark. Denmark’s win this evening in the other group match means the Azzurre are no longer masters of their own destiny. In addition to a victory in Scandinavia, they will also need Serbia to beat Denmark to book their place in Brazil.

Soncin’s reaction: “These are always the toughest matches because you’re expected to win, and that brings even more pressure, even though wearing the Italy shirt already comes with huge responsibility.” Head coach Andrea Soncin reflected on the game, focusing on how the match changed positively after the break and praised the depth and versatility within his squad: “I’m lucky to work with top-level players who all bring different qualities,” he said. “It’s up to us as a coaching staff to make the most of those strengths and find different solutions within the game. Tonight, the only thing that mattered was securing the win so we could go to Sweden and play with everything at stake, while keeping an eye on the other result. I also want to thank the fans in Pisa for the incredible support throughout the match.”

The match.
The loudest cheers during the warm-up were reserved for Laura Giuliani, who started in goal for Italy on her 33rd birthday. And just nine minutes into the match, she gave herself the perfect present with a brilliant save. Serbia posed a threat from a corner, with the ball eventually falling to Slovic inside the six-yard box, but Giuliani reacted superbly to deny her from close range.

Before kick-off, Manuela Giugliano had been honoured by FIGC General Secretary Marco Brunelli for reaching 100 appearances for Italy, and throughout the start of the game, she repeatedly encouraged calmness from her teammates as Serbia showed far more organisation and confidence than they had in April’s 6-0 defeat to the Azzurre. The visitors defended well, pressed aggressively, and looked dangerous on the break. In the 20th minute, their high press forced Giuliani into a mistake in possession, and Matejic nearly capitalised.

Soncin spent much of the half on his feet in front of the bench, studying his side carefully and searching for solutions. Italy slowly found their feet, but too often individual decisions disrupted the flow of their attack.

The first real glimpse of Italy’s quality came in the 35th minute. Caruso sent in a dangerous cross from deep, and Girelli attempted an acrobatic strike, narrowly missing the target but earning applause from the crowd. Greggi continued to look dangerous every time she drove forward, yet Serbia still created the clearest chances before the break. Deep into stoppage time, Ivanovic sent an attempt wide after choosing to shoot rather than square the ball to a completely unmarked teammate.

At half-time, Soncin introduced Cantore for Dragoni in search of more attacking intensity, and the change immediately made a difference. Italy returned for the second half with greater energy and urgency. Greggi raised the tempo, while Girelli battled relentlessly against Serbia’s defenders. In the 59th minute, Glionna sent in a cross, and the captain came close to opening the scoring when Kostic denied her. But Italy’s breakthrough was only moments away. Two minutes later, Greggi burst down the flank, held off her marker, and delivered a perfect cross for Bergamaschi, who powered a header into the net to make it 1-0.

Italy continued to push forward and almost doubled their lead shortly afterwards when a Serbian clearance crashed against the crossbar following pressure from Giugliano.

In the 70th minute, a major mistake in Serbia’s build-up sent Girelli clean through on goal, but Kostic stood tall and made another important save.

The second goal finally came eight minutes from time. Salvai picked out Bonansea with a brilliant long pass, and the Juventus forward drilled a low cross into the box for Caruso, who guided her finish perfectly inside the post.

By then, Italy had completely dominated, pinning Serbia back and creating endless waves of attack. Corners kept coming, and in the 88th minute, Bonansea capped her excellent cameo off the bench with a superb solo goal to seal the 3-0 win. It was the perfect ending to a game that had looked so difficult in the first half, and one that ultimately highlighted the quality and character of the Azzurre.

Now Italy head to Sweden knowing they need one more victory, and a little help elsewhere, to reach the World Cup.

ITALY 3-0 SERBIA
Goalscorers: Bergamaschi 61’, Caruso 82’, Bonansea 88’

Italy: Giuliani; Bartoli (70’ Di Guglielmo), Salvai, Soffia, Bergamaschi (83’ Boattin); Greggi, Giugliano, Caruso; Dragoni (46’ Cantore), Girelli (77’ Piemonte), Glionna (77’ Bonansea).
Head coach: Soncin

Serbia: Kostic; Petrovic, Slovic, Damjanovic, Scepanovic (66’ Milivojevic); Cankovic (58’ Gajic), Stupar (85’ Mijatovic), Ivanovic; Poljak, Matejic, Stokic.
Head coach: Stojkanovic

Referee: Lehtovara (Finland)

Attendance: approximately 3,300 spectators.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Rachele Baldi (Roma), Francesca Durante (Lazio), Laura Giuliani (Milan), Margot Shore (Marseille)

Defenders: Elisa Bartoli (Inter), Valentina Bergamaschi (Roma), Lisa Boattin (Houston Dash), Federica D’Auria (Lazio), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Washington Spirit), Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (London City Lionesses), Elisabetta Oliviero (Lazio), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Angelica Soffia (Milan)

Midfielders: Melissa Bellucci (Napoli Women), Arianna Caruso (Bayern Munich), Giulia Dragoni (Roma), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Giada Greggi (Roma), Eva Schatzer (Juventus), Emma Severini (Fiorentina)

Forwards: Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Michela Cambiaghi (Juventus), Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit), Cristiana Girelli (Bay FC), Benedetta Glionna (Inter), Margherita Monnecchi (Lazio), Martina Piemonte (Lazio), Noemi Visentin (Lazio)

Group 1 results and standings (League A)

Matchday 1: Denmark 3-1 Serbia, Italy 0-1 Sweden
Matchday 2: Serbia 0-0 Sweden, Italy 1-1 Denmark
Matchday 3: Serbia 0-6 Italy, Sweden 1-2 Denmark
Matchday 4: Denmark 0-0 Italy, Sweden 1-0 Serbia
Matchday 5: Denmark 2-1 Sweden, Italy 3-0 Serbia
Matchday 6 (9 June): Serbia vs Denmark, Sweden vs Italy

Standings: Denmark 11 points, Italy 8, Sweden 7, Serbia 1