At 17.45 in Milton Keynes, Italy will make its debut in the Arnold Clark Cup, an invitational tournament with England, Belgium and South Korea.
2023, the year of the World Cup, starts from Italy-Belgium. At 17.45 in Milton Keynes (live TV on Rai Sport), the Azzurre will face the team that eliminated them in last summer’s opaque European round. “And we have to do much better than then – coach Milena Bertolini charged on the eve -, taking the field with anger and the desire to win”. The challenge opens the Arnold Clark Cup, a prestigious tournament hosted by the European champions of England (Sunday 19 on the road to Italy, in Coventry) with the participation also of South Korea, vice champion of Asia (third opponent of the Azzurri, Wednesday February 22 in Bristol).
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Compared to a 2022 that closed with three defeats – the last, the worst, in November against Northern Ireland – there is a need to rekindle enthusiasm and raise the level on the road that leads to the great summer trip in Australia and New Zealand. “From such an important tournament – continued Bertolini – I will receive indications on who among the many young players we are inserting is ready to come to the World Cup. We found ourselves talking about the bad final of 2022, I think it was a particular moment between injuries and energies diverted from the busy international commitments of Juventus and Rome, but now we are here working with great enthusiasm and concentration”. It won’t be easy to revive the magic of France 2019 and the “World Girls” who brought women’s football to Italian homes in the summer, but we have to try. Among the veterans, also present in the expedition four years ago, there is obviously Cristiana Girelli: the forward is ready to celebrate her 100 appearances for the national team, which would arrive only a few days after crossing the milestone of 100 goals for the Juventus. It could do so in a non-trivial public setting: almost 20,000 spectators are expected at the Stadium MK, this because a single ticket entitles them to watch Italy-Belgium and the immediately following match (8.45 pm) between the hosts England and South Korea.
February 15 – 11.50pm
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