Preparations are continuing at the Mancini Park Hotel in Rome for the Women’s National Team’s EURO 2021 qualifiers against Malta and then Bosnia and Herzegovina. The matches will be on Friday 4th October at 17:30 CEST at the Centenary Stadium in Ta’Qali and on Tuesday 8th October at the Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo with kick-off at 17:30 CEST.

Italy return to action with six points on the board following the trips to Israel and Georgia. They were important but tough wins considering that the season hadn’t yet begun for the Azzurre and conditioning wasn’t ideal as a result. Tomorrow, Italy will fly to Malta in the knowledge that they’ve got more minutes in their legs now and that it would be important to leave with the points ahead of the match in Sicily. In Ta’Qalii, Milena Bertolini will also be able to count on two players from the last World Cup. In France, Valentina Cernoia showed that she’s one of the best midfielders around while Valentina Giacinti demonstrated the killer instinct that has seen her compared to Pippo Inzaghi.

It’s no coincidence that she made her mark on 29 August in the win against Israel: “Against Israel and Georgia, it went well,” said the AC Milan forward. “When we don’t give 100 per cent, we risk dropping important points. These two games have taught us to never let our tempo drop and we must stay compact which was one of our characteristics that made a difference at the World Cup.” At the 2019 World Cup in France, something changed for the Azzurre.  “After the competition, people stopped me in the street and even when I was doing the shopping. I’ve received lots of letters. We're happy to have taken a place in the heart of Italians, it’s not easy to approach this new situation but it’s important that we remain ourselves and keep doing what we’ve always done.”

The competition also represented a turning point for Valentina Cernoia. “It changed the personal aspects of our lives. It’s nice to be recognised on the street, it’s nice that there are never any out of place comments but only compliments for what we did. The only thing is to say that you know us from the World Cup but that’s not all we are, we’re also the girls from the Italy team and there are players at big clubs. The difficult thing isn’t keeping out feet on the ground but maintaining this level so compliments don’t become negative comments.

What matters is not now resting on our laurels but approaching every match as though it were a World Cup: “Against Israel and Georgia, we realised that you’ll struggle against teams that are weaker on paper if you don’t have the proper motivation,” said the Juventus midfielder. “We’ve learnt what we had to learn and we’re back together now to put in better performances. On an international level, when your motivation and focus drops and you fail to work at 100%, you can be embarrassed.” 

Media Note: The accreditation process is open for the Bosnia and Herzegovina match on 8 October in Palermo via the www.accreditations.figc.it. online system.

Squad
Goalkeepers: Laura Giuliani (Juventus), Francesca Durante (Fiorentina Women), Rachele Baldi (Empoli Ladies);
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), 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), Annamaria Serturini (AS Roma);
Forwards: Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Valentina Giacinti (AC Milan), Daniela Sabatino (Sassuolo), Stefania Tarenzi (FC Inter).

Staff – Head Coach: Milena Bertolini; Assistant Coach: Nicola Matteucci; Delegation Head: Barbara Facchetti; Women’s National Teams Co-ordinator: Annarita Stallone; Secretary: Alessandra Savini Nicci; Fitness Coach: Francesco Perondi; Goalkeeping Coach: Cristiano Viotti; Match Analyst: Marco Mannucci; Doctors: Luca Gatteschi, Antonio Ponzo; Physiotherapists : Maurizio D’Angelo, Matteo Cossa; Nutritionist : Natale Gentile.

Schedule
Tuesday 1 October
10:00 Training
13:15 Players’ press conference
16:00 Training (First 15 minutes open to the press)

Wednesday 2 October
9:25 Leave from Rome to Malta
17:30 Training

Thursday 3 October
17:30 Training
18:30 Inspection of the Centenary Stadium

Friday 4 October
17:30 Malta vs. Italy

Saturday 5 October
9:30 Training
18:55 Leave from Malta for Rome
21:40 Leave from Rome for Palermo

Sunday 6 October
16:30 Training (closed)

Monday 7 October
16:00 Press conference at the Stadio Renzo Barbera
16:30 Training (First 15 minutes open to the press)

Tuesday 8 October
17:30 Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina