Italy have been drawn into Group G of the Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand and they’ll be confident of reaching the knock-out stages.
The tournament kicks off on July 20 2023 and ends a month later on August 20. The United States are entering as reigning champions and will be looking to defend their title, whilst challengers like England, Sweden and Germany will be hoping to lift the trophy.
Italy have been drawn into Group G alongside Sweden, Argentina and South Africa, being assigned to a tough but escapable group.
The group stage schedule
Italy vs Argentina – July 24 – Eden Park, Auckland
Sweden vs Italy – July 29 – Wellington Regional
South Africa vs Italy – August 2 – Wellington Regional
Milena Bertolini’s Azzurre will be hoping to finish second in Group G behind Sweden, who are currently ranked second in the world. They had a tough tournament at the Women’s European Championship earlier this year, finishing bottom of a group containing Iceland, Belgium and France.
Italy had a good outing at their last World Cup in 2019, reaching the quarter-final stage of the tournament – they topped a group containing Australia, Brazil and Jamaica and beat China in the Round of 16 before falling 2-0 to eventual runner-ups the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
The Azzurre looked strong in their qualifying campaign for the upcoming World Cup, finishing top of a group that contained Switzerland, Romania, Croatia, Lithuania and Moldova. Their top scorer in these qualifiers was Juventus’ Cristiana Girelli, who netted eight goals, and she’ll be a key player for Bertolini in New Zealand next year.