A historic result. In front of 10,000 fans at the Estadio Municipal de Pasarón in Pontevedra, the Azzurre showed incredible heart to come away with a deserved 3-2 win over world champions Spain. After Athenea’s eleventh-minute opener, Andrea Soncin’s side responded with three second-half goals from Giacinti, Cambiaghi and Linari. Gonzalez’s finish got the hosts back into it, but Italy held firm to emerge victorious.

A memorable evening, one which allowed the Azzurre to join Sweden on seven points as the two sides fight it out to finish second in the group. All will be decided on Tuesday evening, when Italy will take on Switzerland at 19:00 CET in Parma. Should the Azzurre win and Sweden draw or lose away to Spain, Soncin’s team would achieve their objective and remain in League A without having to play a relegation play-off.

The team were congratulated by FIGC President Gravina immediately after full-time: “Congratulations to the Azzurre and Head Coach on an extraordinary performance. This is a real feat against the reigning world champions. A splendid page in Italian women’s football history has been written.”

Meanwhile, Soncin had the following to say: “It’s a fantastic feeling. We came here fully aware that we could achieve something big. It’s a historic result and, as President Gravina pointed out, the girls have written a wonderful page in Italian women’s football history. This match can only give us belief and confidence going forward. Together, we can do great things.”

The match. Soncin opted for the same system used in the reverse fixture: Italy took to the pitch in a 3-5-2 that became a 5-4-1 out of possession with a view to containing a fast and technically gifted Spain side. In defence, Linari and Lenzini were joined by Di Guglielmo, who, compared to the match in Salerno, moved inside to take the place of the injured Bartoli. Bergamaschi and Boattin lined up on the flanks, while the midfield trio consisted of Caruso, Giugliano and Dragoni. Giacinti and Cambiaghi were selected in attack. Meanwhile, Spain deployed their classic 4-3-3. This time around, Hermoso and Paralluelo were included in the starting line-up, with the former having come on in the second half in the reverse match to bag the winner during the closing stages.

Italy started brightly, pressed high up the pitch and had the first effort on goal through Boattin, who fired over from the edge of the box with just over a minute played. The hosts responded vehemently and, after Caldentey had had a goal ruled out for offside, went in front through Athenea, who took on Boattin before beating Giuliani with a fierce strike.

Having taken the lead, Spain continued to pass the ball around like they know how, but Italy defended stoutly in a first half that finished without any more real goalmouth action. Then, the news of Switzerland’s 1-0 victory over Sweden only made the Azzurre more motivated to find an equaliser as they returned to the pitch for the second half.

And that is exactly what they did. The second period started with Giacinti’s 25th Italy goal: the Roma striker received a pass from Caruso, cut inside onto her right foot and curled the ball into the far side of the net to make it 1-1. The Azzurre then only increased their intensity in the rain: Cantore and Catena came on for Giacinti and Dragoni, allowing Soncin’s side to press with even more conviction. This tactic paid off as Spain gave the ball away at the back and Italy scored their second: Giugliano sent in a lovely cross for Cambiaghi, who headed home her first goal in Azzurre colours.

Things got even better for Italy, who extended their advantage in the 64th minute: Cambiaghi flicked on Caruso’s corner for Linari, who was left with an easy tap-in. The captain ran towards the bench to celebrate a fantastic moment with the entire group. However, the home side weren’t about to give up and went back on the attack, with the substitute Gonzalez reducing the arrears after 76 minutes. A few moments later, Galli, who had also come off the bench, almost put the game to bed, but her left-footed effort was somehow kept out by Coll in the Spain goal. In the final few minutes, Italy stood firm to hold the hosts at bay. Tonight, there was no stoppage-time equaliser, and the final whistle was met with huge celebrations from the group out on the pitch. A wonderful result and a memorable evening.

SPAIN 2-3 ITALY

Goals: 11’ Athenea (S), 46’ Giacinti (I), 57’ Cambiaghi (I), 64’ Linari (I), 76’ Gonzalez (S)

SPAIN (4-3-3): Coll; Battle, Paredes (68’ Ivana), Aleixandri, Olga; Bonmatí (46’ Gonzalez), Teresa, Hermoso; Caldentey, Paralluelo, Athenea (46’ Garcia). Substitutes: Misa, Salon, Perez, Oihane, Navarro, Panedas, Oroz, Fiamma, Gabarro. Head Coach: Montse Tomè

ITALY (5-3-2): Giuliani; Bergamaschi, Di Guglielmo (91’ Salvai), Lenzini, Linari, Boattin; Caruso, Giugliano (70’ Galli), Dragoni (54’ Catena); Giacinti (54’ Cantore), Cambiaghi (91’ Piemonte). Substitutes: Baldi, Schroffenegger, Gama, Greggi, Severini, Bonfantini, Serturini. Head Coach: Andrea Soncin

Referee: Eleni Antoniou (GRE). Assistants: Georgia Komisopoulou (GRE) and Vasilia Tsikilitari (GRE).  Fourth official: Andromachi Tsiofliki (GRE).

UEFA WOMEN’S NATIONS LEAGUE – LEAGUE A, GROUP 4

Friday 1 December
Switzerland 1-0 Sweden
Spain 2-3 ITALY

Table (after matchday 5): Spain 12, Sweden 7, ITALY 7, Switzerland 3

Tuesday 5 December
19:00 CET - ITALY vs. Switzerland
19:00 CET - Spain vs. Sweden