The Italy Women’s National Team trained today ahead of their highly-anticipated game against reigning world champions Spain. The Azzurre face La Roja at the Estadio de Pasarón in Pontevedra on Friday evening. The team trained this morning at Coverciano and will fly to Galicia tomorrow morning.

The penultimate group game in the Nations League will have a big impact on the final standing; Spain have a perfect record at the top of the group and most recently beat Switzerland 7-1 (their 17th win from 19 games in 2023). Should they win on Friday, La Roja would qualify for their finals of the competition, which will decide a qualifying spot for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Italy, on the other hand, are hoping to continue their own development, evidenced by two great performances in October, and steal a march in the race for second place. Andrea Soncin’s side need points and are hoping for the Swiss to beat Sweden.

Tomorrow afternoon, after landing in Vigo and a subsequent transfer to Pontevedra, the Azzurre will hold a final training session at the 12,000-capacity venue for Friday’s fixture. This will be the 19th meeting between the two sides: 11 wins for Italy, three for Spain and four draws. The Azzurre will return to Coverciano the morning after the game and will immediately set about preparing for the match against Sweden, their final fixture of the year (Tuesday 5 December) at the Tardini in Parma.

PREVENTION CARAVAN – KOMEN ITALIA.  The Italy Women’s National Team are continuing their commitment to aiding in the prevention of breast cancer. Susan G. Komen Italia’s “prevention caravan” is coming to Parma at the same time as the Azzurre; on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 December, on Viale Partigiani d’Italia, in front of the Stadio Tardini, there will be free diagnostic scans on offer between 9:30 and 16:00. Last month, for the game against Spain in Salerno, 130 women made use of the free breast exams (ultrasound and mammography).

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Rachele Baldi (Fiorentina), Francesca Durante (Inter), Laura Giuliani (AC Milan), Katja Schroffenegger (Fiorentina);

Defenders: Elisa Bartoli (Roma), Valentina Bergamaschi (AC Milan), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Roma), Sara Gama (Juventus), Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (Roma), 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).