It looked easy on paper, but in fact this afternoon’s game at the "Centenary Ta' Qaly" Stadium in Malta turned out to be more complicated than expected. It took 68 minutes and a lot of difficulty before Roma defender Elisa Bartoli gave the Azzurre the lead to push them on to three points. The game was then secured by Cristiana Girelli’s penalty in the 92nd minute, giving the Women's National Team their third consecutive victory in EURO 2021 qualification. Italy thus remain in top spot of Group B, joint with Denmark on maximum points. Coach Bertolini said the following: "It was a difficult match as far as the result is concerned but the team played well and are certainly growing compared to August. We're still lacking a bit of concreteness but I'm satisfied because we're on the right track."

MATCH REPORT. Coach Bertolini made a fair few changes to the side compared to the first two games in qualifying, leaving big names such as Guagni, Linari, Sabatino and Girelli on the bench, but sticking with the trusty 4-4-2 formation. In front of Laura Giuliani, the defence was made up from Bergamaschi, Gama, Fusetti and Bartoli. In midfield, in addition to the Giallorossi duo Giugliano and Galli, the Coach opted for Cernoia and Marinelli, the latter making her debut in the senior side. With Girelli still not back to full fitness and Bonansea ruled out due to injury, it was Stefania Tarenzi who partnered Giacinti up top, the former making her return to the starting side after more than four years. Malta meanwhile opted for a cautious 5-4-1, starting with three players from the Italian league: Juventus’ Sciberras, Bari’s Shona Zammit and Florentia San Gimignano’s centre-back Emma Lipman.

The Azzurre started well, attacking aggressively and trying to catch the Maltese defence off guard with sudden longshots and chipped through balls. However, as time went on the Italians’ intensity dropped and their play became more predictable, having only a handful of chances in the first half through Giugliano and Cernoia who couldn’t find the target. Malta’s first chance of the game only came in the 40th minute, and Laura Giuliani was first called into action two minutes later in stopping Zammit’s weak free kick.

Milena Bertolini replaced Marinelli with Girelli for the second half as Malta continued to defend resolutely, foiling a great chance for Giacinti in the 48th minute. In the 58th Bartoli, with a bit of luck, found herself free in the area but the forward’s effort was too weak and ended up in the grateful arms of Malta’s goalkeeper. Rosucci then came on for Tarenzi, a turning point which added some pace to the Azzurre’s midfield and upped the pressure, with the first goal coming just minutes later. In the 68th minute, Elisa Bartoli latched onto Girelli's backheeled assist and fired one past Xuereb from the edge of the area. Italy’s goalscorer then gave way to Alia Guagni, but the chances continued to flow and the Azzurre found their second right at the death. A handball by Lipman and Girelli made no mistake from the spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and securing yet another big three points for the Azzurre.