The Azzurre trained in Lagos late this morning to continue their preparations for their first match of 2022 and work on the details ahead of their Algarve Cup opener. At 13:00 CET tomorrow, Milena Bertolini’s side will face Denmark in the first match of the tournament.

After pulling out of the final of the 2020 Algarve Cup due to the worsening COVID-19 situation, Italy are ready to once again make their mark in the tournament, fully aware that they’ll be up against high-quality opponents. “We’ll be facing top-class sides in this competition,” said the Head Coach. “The group are motivated, and I expect to see growth from a tactical perspective. I’ll ask the girls to take to the pitch with determination, character and belief in their abilities. The youngest players will have the opportunity to gain experience, something which will allow me to understand whether they’re ready for international football.”

Denmark, who are ranked 14th in the world, will have Nadia Nadim missing, but the team’s coach, Lars Søndergaard, has plenty of options available to him, starting from Pernille Harder. The Chelsea striker is someone who Sara Gama knows well, with the Italy captain having faced her in Euro qualifying and in the Champions League for Juve. “Our last two matches against Denmark were battles,” said Gama. “However, we managed to pick up a point that we needed to qualify for Euro 2022. It’ll be an important test because they’re an excellent side, one of the best I’ve seen recently. Nevertheless, we’re now more aware of their strengths, so it’ll be great to face them as we look to understand where we’ve arrived in terms of our growth. We’ll have the opportunity to work together and try out things that we’ll need in the next few months. We’re ready and can’t wait to get going.”

Tournament schedule (all times in local time - GMT)

Wednesday 16 February
12:00 Denmark vs. ITALY (Estadio Municipal - Lagos)
18:30 Norway vs. Portugal (Estadio Municipal - Lagos)

Friday 18 February
17:00 Sweden vs. Denmark (Estadio Algarve - Faro)

Sunday 20 February
12:00 ITALY vs. Norway (Estadio Algarve - Faro)
17:15 Portugal vs. Sweden (Estadio Algarve - Faro)

Wednesday 23 February
11:00 Final - 1st vs. 2nd (Estadio Municipal - Lagos)
From 10:30 to 13 – Triangular tournament 3rd, 4th and 5th (Estadio Algarve - Faro)

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Rachele Baldi (Napoli Femminile), Francesca Durante (Inter), Laura Giuliani (Milan);

Defenders: Valentina Bergamaschi (Milan), Lisa Boattin (Juventus), Lucia Di Guglielmo (Roma), Sara Gama (Juventus), Alia Guagni (Milan), Martina Lenzini (Juventus), Elena Linari (Roma), Benedetta Orsi (Sassuolo), Angelica Soffia (Roma);

Midfielders: Arianna Caruso (Juventus), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus), Aurora Galli (Everton), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Martina Rosucci (Juventus), Flaminia Simonetti (Inter);

Forwards: Barbara Bonansea (Juventus), Sofia Cantore (Sassuolo), Valentina Giacinti (Fiorentina), Cristiana Girelli (Juventus), Benedetta Glionna (Roma), Martina Piemonte (Milan), Annamaria Serturini (Roma).