On Wednesday 5 July, 25 Azzurre players will depart for New Zealand, where Italy will continue to put in the hard work ahead of their World Cup opener against Argentina at Eden Park in Auckland on Monday 24 July. Out of the 32 players who took part in the recent training camp in Bruneck, Katja Schroffenegger, Valentina Bergamaschi, Julie Piga, Chiara Robustellini, Eva Schatzer, Flaminia Simonetti and Martina Piemonte won’t be involved in the upcoming tournament.

Both Giulia Dragoni and Emma Severini have made the cut after making their senior debuts in Ferrara yesterday. Chiara Beccari, who started the Azzurre’s last two friendlies, is also in the list, while Maria Luisa Filangeri and Beatrice Merlo have been included to take part in the preparatory period. In case of injury or illness, FIFA’s rules allow for changes to the 23-player World Cup squad - this must be officially confirmed by 10 July - up to 24 hours before the team’s first game.

After the friendly against Morocco and this morning’s training session, the group will meet back up in Rome on Tuesday 4 July. The day after, they’ll fly to Auckland, where they’ll be based during the group stage. Once they’ve shaken off the long journey, the team will hold their first session in New Zealand on 7 July. In addition to La Albiceleste, Bertolini’s side will take on Sweden (third in the FIFA Ranking) and South Africa (who won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time less than a year ago) in Group G.

During the last World Cup in France in 2019, the Azzurre enthused millions of Italians as they made it to the quarter-finals. This time around, they’ll kick off their campaign on 24 July in the City of Sails (08:00 CEST), after which they’ll face Sweden (09:30 CEST on 29 July) and South Africa (09:00 CEST on 2 August) at the Regional Stadium in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. There are 17 days to go before the start of the World Cup, and the countdown has begun within the Italy setup, too.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Rachele Baldi (Fiorentina), Francesca Durante (Inter), Laura Giuliani (Milan);

Defenders: Elisa Bartoli (Roma), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Roma), Maria Luisa Filangeri (Sassuolo)*, Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (Roma), Beatrice Merlo (Inter)*, Benedetta Orsi (Sassuolo), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus);

Midfielders: Arianna Caruso (Juventus), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus), Giulia Dragoni (Barcelona), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Giada Greggi (Roma), Emma Severini (Fiorentina);

Forwards: Chiara Beccari (Juventus), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Sofia Cantore (Juventus), Valentina Giacinti (Roma), Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Benedetta Glionna (Roma), Annamaria Serturini (Roma).

*Included to take part in preparatory period