With just 17 days before their World Cup opening game, Italy's adventure is now officiallu underway. At around 11:00 CEST this morning, after a 24-hour journey, the Women's national side landed in Auckland, the city that will host the Azzurre during the first phase of the tournament. The players received the warmest of welcomes both at the airport and the hotel, with smiles, excitement and an air of celebration around in the squad's first few hours in New Zealand.

After lunch, to get acclimatised to the time difference and the training pitches, the group went to Shepherds Park for a quick session to reactive the muscles and stretch their legs. Despite the rain, cold and tiredness, the group were in positive spirits and are excited about the challenge ahead. Their group path sees them face Argentina at Eden Park in Auckland on 24 July (8:00 CEST), Sweden on 29 July (9:30 CEST) and South Africa on 2 August (9:00 CEST), both at the Regional Stadium in the capital, Wellington. 

The first objective is to get through the group stages, with the ambition to better their 2019 result, where they reached the quarter-finals and captured the hearts of millions of Italians. As the Maori would say, ‘Kia kaha’, Italy, (Be strong).