The road to Brazil 2027 resumes. Four months after their final World Cup qualifier, which saw them finish second in the group behind Denmark, the Women’s National Team are ready to return to action against Belarus in the first round of the World Cup play-offs. The Azzurre face a two-legged tie against the side ranked 52nd in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking. The first leg will be played at the David Petriashvili Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday 9 October at 18:15 CEST, while the return leg will take place at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence on Tuesday 13 October at 18:15 CEST. The winners will advance to a decisive tie in early December against the winners of Finland vs. Serbia.

Having missed out on automatic qualification, the Azzurre must negotiate the play-offs to book their place at the World Cup in Brazil, the first South American country to host the tournament. Unlike in the group stage, VAR will be in use. The 32 European teams involved will compete for the final seven places at the tenth edition of the tournament, plus one spot in the inter-confederation play-offs. Twenty-eight players will report to Coverciano when the training camp begins on Sunday. The main news is the return of Martina Rosucci and Annamaria Serturini after more than a year away from the squad, with Serturini available again following an ACL injury. Astrid Gilardi and Elisa Polli also return.

Andrea Soncin’s side will train at the Federal Technical Centre until Wednesday 7 October, when they will depart for the Georgian capital. The Belarusian federation, which has been required to play its home matches at neutral venues since 2022, selected Tbilisi to host the first-ever meeting between the two countries. Italy will return to Florence on the morning of Saturday 10 October and resume preparations for the return leg at the Franchi, a stadium that holds fond memories for the Azzurre. In addition to a 1-1 friendly draw with England in 1995, Italy beat Portugal 3-0 there in 2018 and Israel 12-0 in 2021, securing qualification for the 2019 World Cup and EURO 2022 respectively. Tickets are available from ticketing.figc.it and authorised Vivaticket outlets, with discounted prices for Under-20s, Over-65s, university students and Fiorentina season-ticket holders.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION. Media organisations are advised that applications to attend the match are now open exclusively through the FIGC’s online accreditation system. Requests may be submitted until 18:00 CEST on Saturday 10 October, following registration on the FIGC accreditation portal.

THE SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Rachele Baldi (Roma), Francesca Durante (Como 1907), Astrid Gilardi (Como Women), Laura Giuliani (Stuttgart);

Defenders: Elisa Bartoli (Inter), Valentina Bergamaschi (Roma), Lisa Boattin (Houston Dash), Federica D’Aurica (Juventus), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Washington Spirit), Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elisabetta Oliviero (Roma), Martina Rosucci (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Angelica Soffia (Milan);

Midfielders: Arianna Caruso (Real Madrid), Giulia Dragoni (Chelsea), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Giada Greggi (Roma), Eva Schatzer (Juventus), Annamaria Serturini (Juventus), Emma Severini (Fiorentina);

Forwards: Barbara Bonansea (San Diego Wave), Michela Cambiaghi (Inter), Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit), Cristiana Girelli (Bay FC), Benedetta Glionna (Inter), Martina Piemonte (Roma), Elisa Polli (Inter).

SCHEDULE

Sunday 4 October

Squad meets at Coverciano

Monday 5 October

13:30 CEST – Head Coach press conference
16:00 CEST – Training (open)

Tuesday 6 October

15:30 CEST – Training (first 15 minutes open to the media)

Wednesday 7 October

10:30 CEST – Training (closed)
15:30 CEST – Departure for Tbilisi

Thursday 8 October

18:15 local time (16:15 Italian time) – MD-1 training at the David Petriashvili Stadium in Tbilisi

Friday 9 October

20:15 local time (18:15 Italian time) – Belarus vs. ITALY

Saturday 10 October

11:30 local time (09:30 Italian time) – Departure for Florence
17:00 CEST – Training (first 15 minutes open to the media)

Sunday 11 October

10:30 CEST – Training (closed)

Monday 12 October

15:30 CEST – MD-1 press conference with the Head Coach and a player at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence
17:00 CEST – MD-1 training at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence

Tuesday 13 October

18:15 CEST – ITALY vs. Belarus (live on Rai 2)

The squad will be released after the match.