Breaking the Swedish curse would keep the qualification dream alive and send a message of strength and resilience, both to themselves and future opponents. On Tuesday in Gothenburg (19:00 CEST), in the final match of their World Cup qualifying group, Italy Women will meet its fate. The path to direct qualification for the World Cup is extremely slim and requires two results to go the Azzurre’s way: an Italy victory at the Gamla Ullevi Stadium and, at the same time, a Denmark defeat away to Serbia. Any other combination would send the Azzurre into the end-of-year play-offs.

Italy are aiming for their first-ever victory on Swedish soil. Sweden remain the only Scandinavian side Andrea Soncin’s team have yet to defeat during his tenure, with the Azzurre’s most recent win over the Swedes dating back to a friendly played in Cremona in 2018. This morning, the 29 players selected by the head coach trained at the team’s base in Tirrenia before departing in the afternoon for Gothenburg. On Monday at 18:00 CEST, Italy will hold their final training session at the stadium, which has a capacity of more than 18,000 and will host Tuesday’s match. Claiming all three points would provide another significant boost for a side that, since the European Championship, have won only their two matches against Serbia, while falling short of victory against the higher-ranked opponents faced in friendlies and World Cup preparations, including Japan, Brazil and the United States.

Should Cristiana Girelli and her teammates fail to secure top spot in Group 1, they will have to wait until 18 June to discover their opponents in the first round of the play-offs, when the draw for the European qualifying play-offs will take place. The teams finishing second and third in each League A group will face the six group winners and the two best runners-up from League C on 7 and 13 October, with the second leg played at home. The second round of play-offs is scheduled for 26 November and 5 December and will determine the seven teams that qualify for the tenth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, as well as the one nation – based on the lowest FIFA Ranking – that will be required to progress through the inter-confederation play-offs in February 2027.

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 (League A) Results and Standings

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