On Tuesday, Italy will face Sweden away from home in their fourth Nations League fixture. It’ll be the second meeting between the two sides in just over a month, with the Scandinavians having won 1-0 in Castel di Sangro on 26 September.

After putting the finishing touches to their preparations at the Federal Technical Centre in Coverciano, Andrea Soncin’s side will fly to Malmö in the afternoon with the aim of drawing level with their next opponents in second place. Something special will be needed against the Swedes, who beat Switzerland 1-0 last time out, but the Azzurre have shown real confidence in their capabilities and will also undoubtedly take to the pitch with courage against the No.1 side in the FIFA ranking.

Italy Women have played in Malmö before: in 1990, they drew with the home side in Euro qualifying thanks to Carta’s equaliser. The match at the New Stadium, which has a capacity of 20,000, will be the 27th encounter between the Azzurre and Sweden, who have 16 wins to their name compared to Italy’s four. Six draws complete the picture. Stéphanie Frappart, who the Azzurre previously encountered in EURO 2022 qualifying against Switzerland in November 2021, will take charge of the match. The Frenchwoman, who also refereed the 2019 women’s World Cup final between the United States and the Netherlands and the men’s UEFA Super Cup showdown in the same year, became the first woman to officiate a men’s World Cup match during the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Roberta Aprile (Juventus), Rachele Baldi (Fiorentina), Laura Giuliani (Milan), Katja Schroffenegger (Fiorentina);

Defenders: Elisa Bartoli (Roma), Valentina Bergamaschi (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), Martina Tomaselli (Roma);

Forwards: Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Agnese Bonfantini (Inter), Michela Cambiaghi (Inter), Benedetta Glionna (Roma), Valentina Giacinti (Roma), Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Gloria Marinelli (Milan).

League A, Group 4: results, fixtures and table

Matchday 1 (22 September): Switzerland 0-1 ITALY, Sweden 2-3 Spain

Matchday 2 (26 September): ITALY 0-1 Sweden, Spain 5-0 Switzerland

Matchday 3 (27 October): ITALY 0-1 Spain, Sweden 1-0 Switzerland

Table: Spain 9, Sweden 6, ITALY 3, Switzerland 0.

Matchday 4 (31 October): 18:30 CET – Sweden vs. Italy (Malmö); 19:00 CET – Switzerland vs. Spain (Zurich)

Matchday 5 (Friday 1 December): 21:30 CET – Spain vs. ITALY, Estadio Municipal de Pasarón, Pontevedra; 20:00 CET – Switzerland vs. Sweden, Luzern Arena, Lucerne

Matchday 6 (Tuesday 5 December): Spain vs. Sweden, Estadio La Rosaleda, Málaga; ITALY vs. Switzerland, Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma