In the pursuit of one sporting achievement, another has been conquered, quietly and unexpectedly bringing joy and happiness to the grey morning in Weggis. It was Elena Linari who brought the sunshine to Italy’s penultimate training session ahead of the eagerly awaited quarter-final clash against Norway, scheduled for Wednesday at 21:00 CEST in Geneva. Before lacing up her boots for the session at the Thermoplan Arena, the Roman defender earned her degree in Sports Science from the San Raffaele online university, defending her thesis “Football, cognitive skills, and the 1-vs-1 duel” from her hotel room. It was certainly a unique, emotional, and unusual moment, especially just two days before the knockout game the Azzurre have been anticipating for 12 years.

“Out of superstition, I didn’t tell anyone I was graduating,” said ‘Linus’ after receiving a bouquet of flowers in the colours of the tricolore from her teammates. “I was hoping I’d still be here and able to celebrate it with all of you. I see this as the fulfilment of a journey that maybe was a little too long, but it’s always been one of those dreams that I had kept tucked away. Everything happens at the right time, and let’s hope plenty more good things come our way in the coming days.” The focus then shifted from Dr. Linari’s joy to Sofia Cantore and Julie Piga, who took questions from the press at today’s press conference.

It was the newly signed Washington Spirit striker and the first Azzurra to move to the USA, where she’ll head after the tournament, who broke the ice and gave insight into the atmosphere in the dressing room, just over 48 hours before this historic moment. “Qualifying gave us a huge boost of positive energy,” said the 25-year-old from Lecco, who is just one appearance away from reaching 40 caps for the national team. “We’re focusing on every detail and working hard to stay on track with our goals. Beyond tactics, we know we need to play with heart and courage. We’ve already shown great character in our matches, but it needs to stand out even more in games like these.”

The mental part of the match will be key, but there’s another essential component. “From now on, we need to play with as much freedom as possible. We have nothing to lose,” said Cantore. “I’m convinced that reaching the quarter-finals helped us regain a sense of ease, which will allow us to play better than we did in the group stage. They’ve got strong individuals, but we need to be brave on the ball and keep possession; that’s how we can cause problems for them.” The same confidence in the team’s potential, even to go all the way, was echoed in Piga’s words as well: “We can reach the final. We have real quality, and we know how far we can go,” said the AC Milan defender without hesitation. “This team will only get stronger. We’re on the right track, but right now we’re fully focused on Norway. They’ve scored a lot during the tournament and shown real composure in front of goal.”

The 27-year-old was born in Lyon but is from Roccasecca at heart, a small town in the province of Frosinone where her father’s family comes from. Despite training in France’s youth system, she made the decision to wear the Azzurre shirt two years ago, a jersey she’s carried in her heart since she was a child. “It’s always been my dream to wear the Italy shirt,” she said. “I fell in love with the team celebrating the 2006 World Cup with my family, and watching my idol, Andrea Pirlo. I admire him so much that I even named my dog after him.” Called up for the first time during Italy’s World Cup 2023 preparations, she has since earned seven caps under Andrea Soncin. In this European Championship, she’s made two appearances as a substitute, against Belgium and Spain, demonstrating her readiness to immediately step up to support her teammates. “We have to be ready at any moment,” she added. “The coach makes the decisions, and we all have to respect them. I’m prepared to cheer from the bench or play even for just a minute with this amazing squad, which is so united it pushes every one of us to give our best in every situation. What matters is getting the result.”

Tomorrow morning, the team will hold their final training session at their base in Weggis before heading to Geneva after lunch. The pre-match press conference is scheduled for 19:30 CEST, ahead of the first quarterfinal of the Euros. Italy are the openers in a series of knockout matches which will see Sweden vs England (17 July), Spain vs Switzerland (18 July), and France vs Germany (19 July). These are the eight sides  competing to be crowned champions of EURO 2025, with the final set to take place on 27 July in Geneva.

QUARTER-FINALS

Wednesday 16 July
21:00 CEST – Norway vs. Italy

Thursday 17 July
21:00 CEST – Sweden vs. England

Friday 18 July
21:00 CEST – Spain vs. Switzerland

Saturday 19 July
21:00 CEST – France vs. Germany

SEMI-FINALS
Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 July

FINAL
Sunday 27 July