Italy Women are continuing to prepare for their upcoming fixtures against Georgia and Malta on Friday 8 November (17:30 CET) at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito in Benevento and on Tuesday 12 November (14:15) at the Stadio Teofilo Patini in Castel di Sangro respectively.

With the Azzurre looking to pick up their fifth consecutive victory in their group and take another important step towards EURO 2021 qualification, Head Coach Milena Bertolini will be able to count on two of her ‘World Cup Girls’ in Alia Guagni and Cristiana Girelli: both in amongst the goals in the league last Saturday. The two players are at the heart of their respective Fiorentina and Juventus sides, and although they may be fierce rivals in the league, the duo form a great partnership in Italy’s National Team. Following on from leading the line for Italy at the World Cup, with a special mention for her unforgettable hat-trick against Jamaica, Cristiana Girelli has had an exciting start to the season. She has scored in all four of her games for the Azzurre in qualifiers so far, as well as leading the Serie A golden boot race on seven goals after just five games, along with another goal under her belt in Juventus’ Super Cup win over Guagni’s Fiorentina.

Girelli emphasised the point made by Milena Bertolini in yesterday’s press conference: “They’re two sides that really shut up shop, we’ll have to be patient, move the ball around and stick to our game plan just like we managed to do against Bosnia. There are important points at stake and we can’t slip up now.” Having rejected Real Madrid’s advances in summer to stay in Florence, Alia Guagni has confirmed her spot as one of the most highly valued Italian footballers at an international level, also thanks to her impressive showing at the World Cup. The Viola captain added: “We’re heading towards two fundamental games, we cannot afford to underestimate our opponents, even if they are both on zero points. We need to step onto that pitch with the right focus and show the football that we’re capable of playing.”

While the team have struggled at times to reproduce the brilliance shown at the World Cup in France, the Juve striker explained: “Now everyone expects a lot of us, but this is a responsibility that we’re happy to accept. It was nice to be back playing at home, there was a fantastic atmosphere from the crowd in Palermo and that really helped our performance. Maybe we weren’t quite at our best for the first games in qualifying, but then the character of this group came to light.” Guagni also spoke about the effect left by the World Cup: “We were a bit tired both physically and mentally, then we all looked at each other and we said to each other that we want to qualify all together. The new girls have brought a lot of energy to the group.” The two Azzurre then commented on what happened at Verona’s Bentegodi on Sunday: “Racism is certainly a big problem that needs to be tackled, we need to take decisive measures against it. It’s inconceivable that we’re still talking about racism today,” said Guagni. Girelli added: “It was horrible to see, luckily we don’t have episodes like that in women’s football: that should be highlighted and we certainly have to be proud about it. Ours is a small part of the world of football. We’re small, but in this respect we’re big because we don’t have any kind of prejudice or discrimination.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Laura Giuliani (Juventus), Roberta Aprile (FC Inter), Alessia Piazza (Milan);
Defenders: Elisa Bartoli (AS Roma), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Laura Fusetti (AC Milan), Sara Gama (Juventus), Alia Guagni (Fiorentina Women), Elena Linari (Atletico Madrid), Linda Tucceri Cimini (AC Milan);
Midfielders: Valentina Bergamaschi (AC Milan), Arianna Caruso (Juventus), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus), Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (AS Roma), Benedetta Glionna (Hellas Verona), Giada Greggi (AS Roma), Gloria Marinelli (FC Inter), Martina Rosucci (Juventus);
Forwards: Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Deborah Salvatori Rinaldi (AC Milan), Daniela Sabatino (Sassuolo), Stefania Tarenzi (FC Inter).

Staff – Head Coach: Milena Bertolini; Assistant Coach: Nicola Matteucci; Women’s National Team Coordiantor: Annarita Stallone; Secretary: Alessandra Savini Nicci; Fitness Coach: Francesco Perondi; Goalkeeping Coach: Cristiano Viotti; Match Analyst: Marco Mannucci; Doctors: Luca Gatteschi and Antonio Ponzo; Physiotherapists: Daniele Frosoni and Matteo Cossa; Nutritionist: Natale Gentile.

Schedule

Tuesday 5 November

09:30 CET - Training (Behind closed doors)

13:30 CET - Players’ press conference

15:30 CET - Training (First 15 minutes open to the press)

Wednesday 6 November

09:30 CET - Training (Behind closed doors)

16:00 CET - Departure for Benevento

Thursday 7 November

15:45 CET - Press conference at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito

16:15 CET - Training (First 15 minutes open to the press)

Friday 8 November

17:30 CET - Italy vs. Georgia

Saturday 9 November

10:00 CET - Training (Behind closed doors)

16:00 CET - Departure for Castel di Sangro

Sunday 10 November

09:30 CET - Training (Behind closed doors)

15:30 CET - Training (Behind closed doors)

Monday 11 November

10:30 CET - Press conference at the Stadio Teofilo Patini

11:00 CET - Training (First 15 minutes open to the press)

Tuesday 12 November

14:15 CET - Italy vs. Malta