“We are working to try to go and pull off a feat.” Andrea Soncin repeated that many times over the course of his press conference at the beginning of the training camp, a message to charge up the atmosphere ahead of the penultimate match in Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League against Spain on Friday at the Pasarón di Pontevedra at 21:30 CET. “A difficult challenge, not impossible,” underlined the head coach, who is aiming high and doesn’t want to hear talk about third place. Focussed entirely on the match against the world champions, only after that will they begin to think about the match against Switzerland, scheduled for Tuesday 5 December (19:00 CET) at the Tardini in Parma. 

Soncin, who led the first session this afternoon, joined by the U23 selection had this to say: “Nothing has been decided yet, the group is still open. I am very concentrated on our path of growth. In a little over a week, we will be able to draw conclusions, but with great humility, this group is showing that they can get a result against anyone. In terms of points, we have collected fewer than we have deserved over these months. Now we want to make up for it: the aim is to win, even against Spain.” The Spanish, in first with a perfect record, are unreachable but with 3 points, Italy would overtake Sweden in the standings. In order to make it, the National Team will have to earn more points than the Scandinavians on Matchday 5 and earn all three points on Matchday 6, hoping the Swedes lose. That is talk for the future though, as the coach and team are all focussed on the away match in Galicia. 

Absences, starting from Bonansea and Girelli’s injuries, don’t worry Soncin, who has said since his first day at the helm that he is working to create a strong team identity: “It’s true that we are missing some important players but the motivation of those that are with us is even stronger. There are lots of girls who are doing very well, there’s competition in all positions, which is a positive aspect of movement. The call-up must be earned day after day, you have to fight to be able to wear this shirt, you cannot take anything for granted.” 

The ‘we’ comes before any other aspect. Cohesion, mentality and the spirit of sacrifice. Against Spain, we will need to build on the plaudits and good things that have been seen in the first four outings of the competition. “We are coming off great performances but the quality that we have to learn is to better manage games. We can definitely improve in terms of quality with regard to the first game. They bring a lot of players into the opponent’s half and we will have to make the most of offensive duels and the spaces they will leave us. We are studying various solutions on a tactical level, the girls are motivated and are making themselves available to the staff. Although there are only a few training sessions left, with this spirit, I am convinced that we can continue and grow in an important manner.” 

The coach is content with the contribution of his forwards, and when asked if there was a problem in front of goal, he responded, without mincing his words: “The attack is growing a lot, just like a lot of other departments. There are young prospects who are already expressing themselves at a high level. For sure, the goalscoring aspect is something we have to continue working on, to succeed in filling the box with lots of players, especially against teams of the highest level. 

This morning, the Azzurre took part in a training day organised by the UEFA educational anti-doping programme ‘HatTricK V.’ The aim of the meeting is to prevent intentional doping and to help avoid accidental rule violations: Francesca Sordini (Federal Anti-Doping Commission) presented the objectives of the programme, while Federico Verdi (NADO Italy) explained the list of prohibited substances to the girls and the medical and technical staff, and then spoke about anti-doping controls, the 'Registered Testing Pool' and the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) request.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION. Editors are informed that accreditation operations for the Parma match against Switzerland are open exclusively on the electronic online system https://figc.getyourevent.online/ until Friday 1 December (18:00 CET). It is possible to apply for accreditation after the necessary registration on the portal.

The squad

Goalkeepers: Rachele Baldi (Fiorentina), Francesca Durante (Inter), 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 (Barcellona), Aurora Galli (Everton), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Giada Greggi (Roma), Emma Severini (Fiorentina);

Attackers: Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Agnese Bonfantini (Inter), Michela Cambiaghi (Inter), Sofia Cantore (Juventus), Michela Catena (Fiorentina), Benedetta Glionna (Roma), Valentina Giacinti (Roma), Annamaria Serturini (Roma).

The Schedule

Monday 27 November
13.00 CET Press conference
15.00 CET Training

Tuesday 28 November
14.30 CET Training

Wednesday 29 November
14:30 CET Training

Thursday 30 November
10.00 CET Departure for Vigo and transfer to Pontevedra
17.30 CET Press conference at the Pasarón di Pontevedra Stadium
18.30 CET Official MD -1 training at the Pasarón di Pontevedra Stadium

Friday 1 December
21.30 CET Match Spain vs. ITALY 

Saturday 2 December
10.00 CET Departure for Florence and transfer to Coverciano 
15.00 CET Training

Sunday 3 December

14.30 CET Training

Monday 4 December
10.00 CET Transfer to Parma

TBC Press conference at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma
TBC Official MD -1 training at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma 

Tuesday 5 December
19.00 CET Match ITALY vs Switzerland (live on Rai Sport)

Players return to their clubs

 

UEFA WOMEN’S NATIONS LEAGUE – LEAGUE A, GROUP 4

Friday 1 December
20:00 CET Switzerland vs Sweden

21.30 CET Spain vs ITALY 

Tuesday 5 December
19:00 CET ITALY vs. Switzerland 
19:00 CET Spain vs. Sweden 

Standings (after matchday 4): Spain 12, Sweden 7, ITALY 4, Switzerland 0