The season ended with a flourish for the Women's National Team. After the prestigious victory last Thursday in Ferrara against the Netherlands, the Azzurre also beat Austria (3-2) in the last match of a particularly happy year that was full of days to remember. A hard-fought success, sealed with a brace from Angelica Soffia, in her third Azzurre appearance, and a penalty converted by Elena Linari. Leading twice, Italy were clawed back by a stubborn Austria, but in the end, they brought home an excellent result which will be good to build on ahead of the next European Championship and the resumption of their World Cup qualifying journey on 17 September, the first fixture of the new season in Italy vs. Moldova. Above all though, this was a test that offered some interesting ideas for the future for Coach Milena Bertolini.

MATCH REPORT – Same formation, but the starters change. Coach Bertolini chose to send out a completely new Italy compared to the one that took on the Netherlands, inserting the best young players from the league to continue the gradual process of integrating new recruits into an already tested group. The starting line-up saw Schroffenegger begin in goal, Lenzini, Linari and Tortelli make up the back three, Soffia, Caruso, Bellucci, Serturini in midfield, and Glionna, Pirone and Cantore in attack.

Three minutes were enough for Italy to take the lead thanks to a great right-footed shot by Angelica Soffia who converted an accurate cross from Serturini, scoring her first goal in the blue jersey. However, Austria, a team with few prominent individuals, but based on a strong and well-structured team, were ready to reply. Once in the lead, the Azzurre had to endure the opponents’ counterattacks and long balls in the opening phase, who drew level on 13 minutes with Billa taking advantage of a defensive misunderstanding. The game went by with few noteworthy opportunities, except for a crossbar hit by Serturini in the 38th minute.

The second half opened with a change for Italy: Coach Milena Bertolini sent on the more experienced Giugliano in place of Bellucci. The Azzurre continued to endure the pressure of their opponents, but luckily Schroffenegger was in place to deny Austria in the 50th and 51st minutes. Then, in the 53rd minute, the second for Italy: A free kick by Giugliano came Soffia who surprised Zinsberger and scored her brace. Another change came in the 62nd minute with Bonfantini coming in for Pirone. Austria were always dangerous and in the 68th minute they scored to make it 2-2 with a header from Wenninger.

Merlo came on in the 69th minute to make her debut in place of Glionna. Despite the difficulties, Milena Bertolini's team proved well able to endure and had no intention of giving up. Bonfantini did very well on 76 minutes to earn a penalty that Linari converted, easily beating the Austrian goalkeeper. Before the final whistle, there was time for the debuts of Filangeri and Prugna.

Coach Milena Bertolini commented: “The match was as I expected; demanding, very physical and aggressive. We started as fearful as was to be expected, because there were many young players on the pitch, but also a lot of talent and quality. I am happy and satisfied because the girls were great, they never gave up, and when they conceded goals they reacted. In short, it was an excellent test with many positives”.