After the defeat against Switzerland on Friday in Palermo, in the battle for first place in the qualifying stages of the 2023 World Cup. The Azzurre now face another challenge: against Romania in the last match of the year on Tuesday in Voluntari (17:30 CET), Milena Bertolini will also not have Roma defender Lucia Di Guglielmo at her disposal. This is because she tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. Beatrice Merlo, who is currently playing for the Under-23 national team, has been called up in her place.

"We need to turn the page and concentrate on the match against Romania which will be tough", these were the words of the coach after the defeat against the Swiss - their first in 2021. It will not be an easy game, especially given the absences of several important players due to injuries and positive tests.

Al di là del risultato, la gara di Palermo - oltre al calore dello stadio ‘Renzo Barbera’, che ha visto più di 9.000 tifosi sostenere le Azzurre durante tutta la partita - è stato un successo in termini di ascolti, con quasi un milione di telespettatori (831.602) incollati davanti alla tv per seguire fino all’ultimo le ragazze di Milena Bertolini (share 5.07%).

Looking beyond the result, the match in Palermo saw plenty of passion in the stands of Stadio 'Renzo Barbera', with more than 9,000 fans supporting the Azzurre throughout the match. It was also a huge success in terms of TV ratings, with almost one million viewers (831,602) watching Milena Bertolini's girls right up until the final whistle (a 5.07% share).

In the afternoon, the team trained at Coverciano, while tomorrow morning they will have a final training session before leaving for Bucharest. In the evening the players will have a walk around Satdionul 'Anghel Iordanescu' in Voluntari, a town that borders the Romanian capital.

Squad list

GOALKEEPERS: Francesca Durante (Inter), Laura Giuliani (AC Milan), Katja Schroffenegger (Fiorentina);

DEFENDERS: Valentina Bergamaschi (AC Milan), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Sara Gama (Juventus), Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (Roma), Beatrice Merlo (Inter), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Angelica Soffia (Roma);

MIDFIELDERS: Norma Cinotti (Empoli), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Maria Teresa Pandini (Inter), Flaminia Simonetti (Inter);

ATTACKERS: Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Agnese Bonfantini (Juventus), Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Benedetta Glionna (Roma), Valeria Pirone (Roma), Annamaria Serturini (Roma).

The schedule

Monday 29 November
10:30 - Official training at Coverciano (open to the press for the first 15')
15:10 - Departure for Bucharest (time zone +1)

Tuesday 30 November
18:30 (CET) – ROMANIA VS. ITALY
At the end of the match, transfer to Bucharest airport and return to home.

Group G standings
Switzerland 15 (5), Italy 12 (5), Romania 9 (4), Lithuania 1 (4), Croatia 1 (5), Moldova 0 (3)