Italy beat Argentina 1-0 in their opening 2023 Women's World Cup game thanks to Cristiana Girelli's header after 87 minutes. The Azzurre now join Sweden at the top of Group G on three points, with the Albiceleste and South Africa on zero points following the first round of fixtures.

It was a renewed Italy side in Auckland that saw a mix of experience, with veterans Linari, Giugliano and Bonansea, and youth, with Dragoni and Beccari (the two youngest starters in this year's tournament so far).

In front of 30,889 fans at Eden Park in Auckland, the first scare was for the Albiceleste backline after four minutes, with Boattin putting in two dangerous corners that yielded chances for Giacinti, Caruso and Giugliano; the defence, though, managed to block out the Azzurre efforts. But it was Bertolini's side who started off the better of the two and on 14 minutes Caruso thought she had given her team the lead, but her lovely finish into the far corner was flagged for offside. The Azzurre continued to dominate possession and build attacking plays, but the South American side stayed compact, closing out any available space. Another Italy goal was ruled out for offside after 42 minutes when Beccari played in Giacinti, but the Roma forward's run was just too early and the flag was raised, confirmed afterwards by a VAR check. A closely-fought half ended 0-0 at the break.  

The second half opened up with a scare for Italy, as Durante did well to palm the ball away from under her goalposts following Stabile's free-kick on the edge of the box. Not long after, the Azzurre earned a free-kick in the final third at the other end for a foul on Beccari by Falfan, but it came to nothing. Bertolini's eleven continued to try and break down a well-organised defence. The match lost its rhythm after the break with stoppages due to some heavy tackling (six yellow cards were shown in total). But it was always Italy who looked the most dangerous, pushing Argentina back as the minutes ticked away. On 69 minutes, Bonansea was brought down by Mayorga, following a surging run forward, earning a free-kick from an inviting position just outside the box: Giugliano stepped up but her effort did not have enough dip and it just flew over with Correa seemingly covering it. After 76 minutes, another chance for the Azzurre: a ball into the area by Bonansea for Beccari was well cut out at the last second by the Argentinian defence. Changes were made by Italy with Greggi replacing the booked Caruso and Cantore coming on for Giacinti, but the decisive sub made by Bertolini was on 83 minutes with Girelli entering the field of play in place of Dragoni. After only three minutes and 38 seconds, the 33-year-old met Boattin's perfectly-placed cross to head home a huge winning goal. The Juventus number 10 has now become the first Italy player to score in two different World Cup editions. After conceding, Argentina reacted and deep into stoppage-time Bonsegundo hit a dangerous free-kick on target that Durante was alert to push away from danger. It was the last action of the game and Bertolini's side celebrated their first win of the campaign with joy at the final whistle. The Azzurre now join Sweden, their next opponents on Saturday 29 July at 09:30 CEST, at the top of Group G.

 

MATCH DETAILS

ITALY 1-0 ARGENTINA

SCORER: 87’ Girelli (I)

ITALIA (4-2-3-1): Durante; Di Guglielmo, Linari, Salvai, Boattin; Giugliano, Dragoni (83’ Girelli); Bonansea, Caruso (58’ Greggi), Beccari; Giacinti (74’ Cantore). Head Coach. Milena Bertolini.

ARGENTINA (4-2-3-1): Correa; Braun, Mayorga, Cometti, Stabile; Nunez (77’ Rodriguez), Benitez; Falfan (92’ Falfan), Banini, Bonsegundo, Larroquette (92’ Gramaglia). Head Coach. German Portanova.

REFEREE: Melissa Borjas (HN)

ASSISTANTS: Shirley Lòpez (HN), Sandra Ramirez (HN); fourth official Ivana Martincic (CRO).

NOTES: bookings: Larroquette (A), Caruso (I), Mayorga (A), Bonsegundo (A), Bonansea (I), Stabile (A)