The intention is clear: go toe-to-toe and compete with the current World champions once again, this time on Spainsh soil in front of 10,000 local fans who will be fill up the stands at the Estadio Pasarón in Pontevedra. The tough fight for second place in the group, currently occupied by Sweden, moves onto tomorrow's game (21:30 CET, live on Rai 2), but Andrea Soncin's focus, is more on his side's performance rather than ground standings.

“We are only thinking about the game with Spain; that's the most important thing now," declared the Head Coach in his press conference. "We have started a journey together and we want to keep developing it. The girls are giving me everything, have been open to our ideas from day one and are always working with the right spirit. I couldn't be happier with the playerd I have at my disposal and the work we are putting in. We have the upmost respect for the opposition, but we want to get a result.” With memories of losing the reverse fixture following a goal in stoppage-time by Hermoso, Italy will be looking to manage the counter-attacks better and and the spaces left by the Spaniards. “We had lots of promising situations where we could have managed possession better and been much more dangerous in going forward," added the boss. "The positive side was defensively, but we will have to show much more quality tomorrow when in possession of the ball.”

The passion and support from the Spanish fans will provide extra motivation for the Azzurre, who can't wait to get back on home soil and have a big crowd in their future home games. “We are pleased to be involved in a game where there will be a big crowd," concluded Soncin. "Our objective must be to have something similar in Italy. We need to feed the Italians' enthusiasm through our style of play and results.” It's a concept also backed up by Elena Linari, who before the final training session answered questions alongside her Head Coach. “Playing in front a big crowd is very motivating. Our dream is to have a similar following also in Italy, but it's a process that is also dependent on what we do on the pitch."

The Roma defender wore the jersey of Atletico Madrid from 2018 to 2020 and, as well as knowing Spanish, knows  the Roja squad very well, who were forced to send Putellas back to Barcelona two days ago because of a knee injury sustained in the first part of the training camp. “They have an array of outstanding talent," underlined Linus, who is ready to make her 98th cap for the Azzurre. "In the reverse fixture, we played really well, but we know we can improve in some areas. We're upset that some teammates, who are injured, can't be with us, so we'll be giving our all for them too. We'll have to play with confidence and also have a bit of luck fall our way.”

Regarding injuries, Soncin will unfortunately not have Francesca Durante and Elisa Bartoli available for the final two fixtures of the year - 5 December in Parma with Switzerland (for ticket info, click here) - due to injury. This morning, the two players did not board the flight for Vigo abd have returned to their clubs. Replacing them are Juventus goalkeeper Roberta Aprile and Sassuolo defender Benedetta Orsi, who were both with the Under 23s at Coverciano. 

Squad List

Goalkeepers: Roberta Aprile (Juventus), Rachele Baldi (Fiorentina), Laura Giuliani (Milan), Katja Schroffenegger (Fiorentina);

Defenders: Valentina Bergamaschi (Milan), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Roma), Sara Gama (Juventus), Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (Roma), Benedetta Orsi (Sassuolo), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Alice Tortelli (Fiorentina);

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

Forwards: Chiara Beccari (Sassuolo), Agnese Bonfantini (Inter), Michela Cambiaghi (Inter), Sofia Cantore (Juventus), Michela Catena (Fiorentina), Benedetta Glionna (Roma), Valentina Giacinti (Roma), Martina Piemonte (Everton), Annamaria Serturini (Roma).

 

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

Friday 1 December
20:00 CET Switzerland vs. Sweden
21:30 CET Spain vs. ITALY 

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

Standings (after four games): Spain 12, Sweden 7, ITALY 4, Switzerland 0