2022 ended in defeat against Northern Ireland for the National Women's team, their third consecutive 1-0 after defeats in the friendlies played against Brazil and Austria. At the Seaview in Belfast, Milena Bertolini's eleven were unable to regain the spirit and shape that had allowed the Azzurre to earn qualification for the World Cup. It was a bitter ending, with McFadden's goal in the 62nd minute highlighting the team's current difficulties, which appeared too sloppy in the key moments of the match.

Italy left the field with their heads down, aware that they must and can do much more, especially in attack. They will try to do so in February in England as they prepare for the Arnold Clark Cup, the tournament from which the path towards the World Cup, scheduled from 20 July to 20 August in Australia and New Zealand, will start.

"We came in with the right approach," said the coach at the end of the match, "and until the goal we did not risk anything. The regret is that we were not accurate enough with our final passes, because we created several opportunities but no end product. After the goal we were disjointed and lost balance, lending ourselves to their counter-attacks. Unfortunately, in this moment we are not able to be clinical".

The match - The coach confirmed the 3-5-2 used in the previous friendlies against Brazil and Austria, but there were seven new players compared to the line-up from Friday in Lignano: Giuliani returned in goal, Cafferata - making her first start - and Glionna were on the wings, in midfield was the new trio formed by Simonetti, Giugliano and Cernoia, and in attack, together with Bonansea, was captain Girelli, who bagged a brace in the last match against the Northern Irish played six years ago.

Italy started strongly, relying on the quality of its midline. Giugliano, the deepest of the three, had the task of starting the moves with speed, Simonetti and Cernoia that of vthat of feeding the ball through to the forwards. A well-controlled start to the match by the sturdy home defence. Bonansea appeared very energized as she produced the most dangerous plays of the first half: the Juve forward first set up Cernoia and then Giugliano, but both failed to find the target defended by Burns. Despite the commitment and the clear territorial dominance, the Italians struggled to keep up the pace, alternating excellent ideas with mistakes that thwarted potential chances.

The second half opened with Merlo and Cantore replacing Bartoli and Bonansea, fresh from the exertions of the Super Cup and the full 90 minutes  against Austria four days ago. The change of players did not influence the flow of the match, which continued to offer very little in the final thirds. In the 60th minute, the green-and-whites made their first notable attempt and in the 62nd minute, after a corner kick, McFadden's tap-in gave them the lead. After this setback, Milena Bertolini threw Linari, Giacinti and Caruso into the mix, and it was the HCL midfielder who came close to equalising with a powerful header but it was too central. In the final minutes, the Northern Irish almost doubled their lead from a corner, but the result remained unchanged until De Cremer's whistle that started the celebrations of the 2500 fans packed into the Seaview Stadium stands.

NORTHERN IRELAND 1-0 ITALY (0-0 HT)

GOALS: 62’ McFadden

NORTHERN IRELAND (4-4-2): Burns; Burrows, McKenna, McFadden, Vance; Hamilton (75’ McDaniel), Callaghan, Cadwell (46’ Andrews), McCarron; Wilson, Wade (75’ McGuinness). Unused Turner, Magee, Nelson, Finnegan, Turner, Holloway, Maxwell, Beattie, Morgan. Coach: Shiels

ITALIA (3-5-2): Giuliani; Bartoli (46’ Merlo), Filangeri, Boattin (70’ Linari); Cafferata, Simonetti (70’ Caruso), Giugliano, Cernoia, Glionna (70’ Giacinti); Bonansea (46’ Cantore), Girelli. Unused: Aprile, Durante, Soffia, Galli, Rosucci, Giacinti, Polli. Coach: Bertolini

REFEREE: De Cremer (BEL). Assistants: De Vries (BEL) and O’Neill (IRL). Fourth official: Thompson (NIR)