Italy kicked off their run at the Women’s World Cup with a 1-0 victory against Argentina at Eden Park on Monday.
The game was a contentious one, and Cristiana Girelli scored the game-winning goal for Italy in the 87th minute after coming off the bench.
After Arianna Caruso and Valentina Giacinti both had goals disallowed in the first half of Italy’s first match in Group G, it seemed as if Italy might be forced to settle for a draw as their best possible result.
But Girelli, a seasoned player for Juventus who led Italy in qualification scoring, came in for 16-year-old Giulia Dragoni towards the end of the game and made her mark with a magnificent header in only four minutes. Girelli was Italy’s leading scorer in qualifying.
The head coach of Argentina, German Portanova, believed that it was unfair for his team, which has not yet won a World Cup match.
“It was a very even match,” he added. “It was a very even match.” “There were times when we had control of the situation, and they did not have many opportunities.”
The outcome was not completely equitable. A tie would have been the appropriate outcome of the game.
The victory for Italy in front of roughly 31,000 supporters in Auckland prepares them very well for their second match, which will take place on Saturday against the favorites of the group in Wellington.
The group captained by Milena Bertolini is looking to improve upon their performance in the 2019 World Cup in France, when they stunned the competition by advancing all the way to the quarterfinals.
In the meanwhile, an Argentina squad who is competing in their fourth World Cup has not yet won a game at the championships despite having ten opportunities to do so. When they face South Africa again, they will be hoping to end their winless streak there.
It seemed like Italy was going to have a terrible evening as both Caruso and Giacinti had goals disallowed for offside while playing in the first half of the game.
An Eliana Stabile free-kick taken from wide on the left nearly beat Francesca Durante, the goalkeeper for Argentina, not long after the game was restarted. Argentina may have even taken the lead at that point.
After the opponent’s captain, Barbara Bonansea, was taken down in the middle of the second half, it seemed as if the game would conclude without a winner. However, a free-kick attempt from Manuela Giugliano went just wide at the opposite end of the field.
But then, in the 83rd minute, Girelli joined the battle, and he was the player who scored a hat trick in Italy’s 5-0 victory against Jamaica in the last World Cup.
After a few moments, the 33-year-old player scored with a header from Lisa Boattin’s left-wing cross after getting up high enough to beat Stabile.
After that, Italy was able to hang on for the win, despite the fact that Durante had to make an additional crucial save in the dying seconds of the game to block a free kick taken by Florencia Bonsegundo.