Italy’s splendid run at the World Cup in France has come to an end at the quarter-final stage. A strong first-half performance wasn’t enough for Milena Bertolini’s side, with goals from Vivianne Miedema (the young Arsenal striker who netted the two goals in Verona in November 2014 that forced Italy to wave goodbye to their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in Canada) and Barcelona defender Stefanie Van der Gragt condemning them to defeat. It was an excellent Dutch performance in the second half and one which brought joy to the more than 10,000 Dutch fans present in the stands of the Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes.

However, the Azzurre have exited the competition with a lot of plaudits having made millions of Italians fall in love with the side and given a huge boost to the women’s football movement. After the full-time whistle, Milena Bertolini called a team huddle in the centre circle, with all the players and staff joining in: “We exit with our heads held high,” said the Head Coach. “The girls have performed exceptionally at this World Cup. They also played well today against a very strong side, I’m very proud of them. There will be tears, but we have to look at the positive aspect: it’s a great starting point for their future. From this point onwards, women’s football in Italy will be different. Those in charge of making certain decisions need to do so because the girls deserve to play professionally and have various opportunities open to them. Everyone has put their heart and soul into it over the past two months.”

“We were hoping we would qualify for the Olympics,” Barbara Bonansea confessed. “But it wasn’t to be. Today was tough, but we hope that this dream can continue and that everyone carries on following us because this is what we need.”

THE MATCH - Milena Bertolini continued with the formation she used from the 40th minute against China, with a forward (Girelli) being left out and a midfielder (Galli) playing from the start. The two full-backs switched sides (Bartoli on the right and Guagni on the left), while up front Valentina Giacinti started alongside Barbara Bonansea with Galli looking to play in an advanced position in support of the two strikers. There were no surprises from the Netherlands, who lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with a forward trio of Martens (who they’d managed to get back fit), Van de Sanden and Miedema.

It was clear that the Netherlands were on another technical level compared to China, but Italy were right in the game and looking to keep their shape before hitting the Dutch on the break. It was a first half that the Azzurre just shaded: in the 17th minute, Italy had the first big chance to open the scoring as Bonansea flicked on Guagni’s ball in Bergamaschi’s direction, but the latter couldn’t get enough on her effort to beat Van Veenendaal. Bertolini’s side were anticipating everything that the Dutch wanted to do, with Gama and Linari reading the play perfectly and Van de Sanden unable to get the better of Guagni. With 36 minutes on the clock, Italy came close again, but Giacinti’s left-footed strike across goal went inches wide. As the first half was drawing to a close, the Oranje woke up somewhat without really creating any clear-cut opportunities. In the 42nd minute, Miedema beat the offside trap before being fouled by Linari, but the resulting free kick taken by Spitse ended up comfortably in Giuliani’s arms.

Milena Bertolini then shook things up at half-time, with Boattin replacing Bartoli. But it was the Netherlands who were the brighter team at the start of the second half, with Miedema unable to direct a header on target after 49 minutes. Two minutes later, Groenen broke into the penalty area before being stopped by Gama, while Miedema was inches away from getting on the end of Van Lunteren’s low cross just moments later. In the 54th minute, Head Coach Bertolini brought on Sabatino for a tiring Bonansea, while the Dutch replaced Van de Sanden, who was unable to beat Guagni all afternoon, with Beerensteyn. Just before the hour mark, there was a let-off for the Azzurre as Van de Donk’s shot hit the bar, while Spitse’s powerful free kick shortly afterwards flew narrowly wide. The Netherlands then took the lead in the 70th minute as Miedema jumped highest in the box to head home Spitse’s set piece to make it 1-0. 15 minutes from the end, it was time for the last throw of the dice for the Azzurre as Bertolini brought on Annamaria Serturini – her first appearance at this summer’s World Cup. However, it didn’t have the desired effect. Instead, the Dutch scored another, with Van der Gragt also finding the back of the net with a header. The Oranje were now almost out of sight, although Italy could have pulled one back through Sabatino, who unfortunately was denied by an outrushing Van Veenendaal.

But it wasn’t to be for the Azzurre, with the Netherlands qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history and earning a spot in the next Olympic Games. Italy, meanwhile, will return home with their heads held high: the ‘Ragazze Mondiali’ have gripped an entire nation with their football this summer.

ITALY 0-2 NETHERLANDS (0-0)

Goals: 70’ Miedema (N), 80’ Van der Gragt (N)

ITALY: Giuliani; Bartoli (46’ Boattin), Gama (C), Linari, Guagni; Cernoia, Giugliano, Galli, Bergamaschi (75’ Serturini); Giacinti, Bonansea (54’ Sabatino). Subs: Marchitelli, Fusetti, Tucceri, Rosucci, Parisi, Girelli, Tarenzi, Mauro, Pipitone. Head Coach: Milena Bertolini.

NETHERLANDS: Van Veenendaal; Van Lunteren, Bloodworth, Van Dongen, Van der Gragt (87’ Dekker); Van de Donk, Spitse, Groenen; Martens, Van de Sanden (56’ Beerensteyn), Miedema (89’ Roord). Subs: Kop, Van Es, Kerkdijk, Van der Most; Pelova, Kaagman, Jansen R., Jansen E., Geurtz. Head Coach: Sarina Wiegman.

Referee: Claudia Umpierrrez (Uru). Assistants: Luciana Mascarana (Uru) and Monica Amboya (Ecu). Fourth official: Liang Qin (CHN). VAR: Carlos Del Cerro Grande (Spa). Assistant VAR: Mariana De Almeida (Arg) and Clement Turpin (Fra).

Notes: attendance 22,600. Bookings: Linari (I), Guagni (I), Cernoia (I), Sabatino (I).