After four days of training in Rome, Italy are getting ready to travel to Parma to continue their preparation for their last 180 minutes in the Nations League. The Azzurre will be in Parma from Monday and they have two more games in Group E that will be crucial in the final standings. They will face Sweden, who are two points ahead of Italy and Denmark, on Friday 30 May at the Tardini stadium (18:20 CEST, Rai 2), before heading to the Swansea Stadium (19:30 CEST, Rai Sport) to face Wales.

The team, before focusing on the EUROs in Sweden which begin on 2 June, are determined to finish as strong as possible in the second edition of the UEFA competition. Everything is still possible: the Azzurre’s minimum goal is to get into second place to guarantee safety in League A, avoiding the Play-offs, but qualifying for the Finals is still possible (for the teams who win their group), and this would be even more likely with a win against Sweden. The manager has chosen 33 players for these games: in addition to those at the training, Arianna Caruso, Lucia Di Guglielmo, Elena Linari, Manuela Giugliano and Valentina Giacinti are all back available. Astrid Gilardi receives her first call up, with Martina Rosucci, Aurora Galli, and forward Eibar Margherita Monnecchi all returning to the team.

THE OPPOSITION. Soncin’s team will face Sweden just less than two months from the disappointment in Solna, where the hosts won 3-2 through Rolfö’s penalty kick in the 95th minute. The Scandinavian side have won 17 of our 29 meetings, with Italy only winning four. Our last victory was back in 2018, in a friendly decided by Daniela Sabatino’s winner. Our record against Wales is rather the opposite: we have won every game (the last one in February in Monza), without conceding.

TICKETS. Tickets for the match against Sweden in Parma can be bought at Vivaticket sales points and at figc.vivaticket.it and vivaticket.com. The price of a ticket in the Petitot stand is 10 euros, in the West and East stand it’s 5 euros, while Under-20s, Over-65s, Vivo Azzurro card holders, university students and Parma members can go to the match for one euro.

The squad list

Goalkeepers: Rachele Baldi (Inter), Francesca Durante (Fiorentina), Astrid Gilardi (Como), Laura Giuliani (AC Milan);

Defenders: Valentina Bergamaschi (Juventus), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Roma), Maria Luisa Filangeri (Fiorentina), Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (Roma), Elisabetta Oliviero (Lazio), Julie Piga (AC Milan), Martina Rosucci (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Angelica Soffia (AC Milan);

Midfielders: Arianna Caruso (Bayern Monaco), Aurora Galli (Everton), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Eleonora Goldoni (Lazio), Eva Schatzer (Juventus), Annamaria Serturini (Inter), Emma Severini (Fiorentina), Flaminia Simonetti (Lazio), Martina Tomaselli (Inter);

Forwards: Chiara Beccari (Juventus), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Agnese Bonfantini (Fiorentina), Michela Cambiaghi (Inter), Sofia Cantore (Juventus), Valentina Giacinti (Roma), Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Margherita Monnecchi (Eibar), Martina Piemonte (Lazio).

The schedule

Monday 26 May
Meeting in Parma by midday
14:00 CEST Soncin press conference
Afternoon training

Tuesday 27 May
Morning training - Collecchio Training Centre

Wednesday 28 May
Morning training - Collecchio Training Centre

Thursday 29 May
15:45 CEST Soncin and player press conference
17:00 CEST Official MD-1 training - Training Centre
19:30 CEST ‘Ennio Tardini’ stadium inspection

Friday 30 May
18:20 CEST ITALY vs. Sweden (Rai 2) – Tardini stadium

Saturday 31 May
Morning training

Sunday 1 June
Morning training
17:30 CEST flight from Parma to Cardiff and transfer to Swansea

Monday 2 June
17:30 BST (18.30 CEST) Official MD-2 training – Swansea Stadium

Tuesday 3 June
18:30 BST (19:30 CEST, Rai Sport) Wales vs. ITALY – Swansea Stadium
Followed by return to Italy and the end of fixtures

 

CALENDAR, RESULTS AND GROUP 4 STANDINGS (League A)

Matchday 1: ITALY 1-0 Wales, Denmark 1-2 Sweden

Matchday 2: ITALY 1-3 Denmark, Wales 1-1 Sweden

Matchday 3: Sweden 3-2 ITALY, Wales 1-2 Denmark

Matchday 4: Denmark 0-3 ITALY, Sweden 1-1 Wales

Standings: Sweden 8, ITALY and Denmark 6, Wales 2

Matchday 5 (30 May): ITALY vs. Sweden, Denmark vs. Wales
Matchday 6 (3 June): Wales vs. ITALY, Sweden vs. Denmark