The coach of the Italian team keeps the hope of direct qualification alive by removing the specter of the playoffs: it is mandatory to beat Serbia in Pisa and hope for a misstep by Denmark. The leader Bartoli returns to the group and there is the first call for Visentin
Talking about playoffs to reach the World Cup is scary these days. And it couldn’t be otherwise. However, it must be said that the possible immersion in the play-offs would certainly not be a sporting tragedy for the girls’ Italy – it will be important to get there as best as possible, in that case -, even if coach Andrea Soncin tries to keep the hope of a feat alive. To put it simply: Italy would go directly to the World Cup only by winning both of the next two matches (against Serbia in Pisa on June 5th, then in Sweden on the 9th) and hoping for at least one defeat of Denmark who leads the group with one point more than the Swedes and three more than the Azzurre (and will face Sweden at home and Serbia away).
the opponents
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In April, Serbia was overwhelmed on its field with a resounding 6-0, but beware of underestimating the return against the weakest team in the group. “When our group was drawn – Soncin’s analysis from the Tirrenia meeting – we had exactly the objective of playing in a final in the last match in Sweden. We are still in the running for this to happen and we must build the opportunity through a great performance in Pisa”. Obviously, fate is not entirely in the hands of Girelli and her teammates, who will have to do their duty on Friday and then wait for the result of Denmark-Sweden. Soncin, among other things, focused on the return to the group of a veteran like Elisa Bartoli who had been missing for quite a while (“she deserved the call with an excellent second round and is also an additional leader in the group, the national team is open to all”) and also commented on the first call-up of Noemi Visentin, a Lazio striker, a great novelty in this round of call-ups (“she has made her journey in the Under 23s which is closely linked to the senior national team, the surprise to see her here it’s more outside than for us”). Then a call for the public’s support: “We chose to play in Pisa, for the first time, because for us it is a decisive match and we know how much the Arena can push.” The only thought is to beat Serbia, in the meantime, in an easy challenge. The rest will be seen.
