Italy travel to EURO 2025 with renewed optimism after failing to make the knockouts since 2013, Andrea Soncin will hope he can lead Italy to better fortunes at EURO 2025.
Le Azzure are intertwined with the history of the women’s football on the continent, the first unofficial championships in 1969 were held and won by Italy. Forty years later the Italians gave us Alessia Tuttino‘s 35 yard pile driver against England and Daniela Sabatino’s iconic controlled volley against Sweden in 2017. Stars like Carolina Morace wrote the script for the early years of Italian prosperity in the competition as Italy made two finals and two semi finals before the turn of the century.
While Italy often provide a certain meravigliosa every four years, since 2000 Italy have failed to advance past the quarter final stage. They remain the only nation to have reached the final twice never to have won the competition.
When Italy last played a knockout match of a major tournament they did so just down the road from where their group fate will likely be decided this time around, in Bern. Well, it’s about a seven hour drive down the road from Valenciennes but you catch my meaning. Switzerland is the closest a major tournament has come to Italy since 2019. Following that run to the quarter-finals, it has been all change in Italian football both good and bad. For example legendary captain Sara Gama retired but the Italian women’s top flight finally turned fully professional.
As for their major tournament pedigree, since 2019, Italy have endured two heart breaking group stage exits at major tournaments. And still, they have all the makings of a side that can prosper in neighbouring Switzerland, and here at The Halfway Line we’ll talk you through their chances.
Elena Linari: The captain with big shoes to fill
Italy come into Euro 2025 without Sara Gama, their captain since 2014, Le Azzure were without her in the World Cup in 2023 too. Barbra Bonansea took the armband but Italy crashed out in the group stage with her captaincy short lived. When Andrea Soncin took the reigns he handed the on pitch leadership responsibilities to Roma’s Elena Linari with little ado.
She quietly took to the responsibility with maturity and her first match in her new role ended in a 1-0 win against Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League. Her calm presence in defence has been crucial in the best period of her club side’s history, helping Roma to historic success. The centre back had the highest percentage of accurate passes in Serie A this season.
One of Linari’s heroes in life is the legendary Kiwi rugby player Jonah Lomu. She even has a tattoo of the All Blacks silver fern on her leg. The All Blacks winning mentality would not go a miss this summer in the Italy camp. Linari will be hoping to imbue Lomu’s mercurial mystique on the squad and lead her team to success.
Did you know? Linari has a tattoo that reads, “per aspera ad astra” – “through difficulties, up to the stars.”
Manuela Giugliano: The Roman looking to inspire Italy to EURO 2025 triumph
Manuela Giugliano is a box to box midfielder worth her weight in gold. She is affectionately know as the ‘red cloud’ in Italy due to both her red hair and her ability to affect matches. Giugliano made her debut for Italy when she was only 16 years old and has excelled since in the middle of the park. She is an expert with a dead ball and has an eye for goal too. Italy’s number six guided her beloved AS Roma to the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter final and has been a pivotal player for the capital club. Roma won their maiden Scudetto trophy in 2022-23 and repeated the feat a year later, but this time added a domestic double to the trophy cabinet with the Italian the star of the team.
Roma faltered this season but Giugliano still managed 22 goal involvements in the league and Champions League. In Serie A only one player played more than her 70 key passes last season and she has rarely failed to perform for the national team too. She scored in a vital victory against Finland in a match that ensured qualification for EURO 2025. One of Italy’s key players with an eye for a thread of the needle pass, this year she has four assists for Italy, three more than any other Italian player.
She wears her heart on her sleeve, right next to her Roma tattoo. Slight though she is at just 5ft 3, don’t count against Italy’s “red cloud” bringing the thunder this Summer.
Did you know? Her father worked for the Italian Air Force meaning Giugliano spent large parts of her childhood in a military village.
The head coach looking to rewrite the narrative for Italy at EURO 2025: Andrea Soncin
Appointed late in 2023 Soncin has said all the right things, he was quick to point out in an early press conference that: “it’s not ‘women’s football’, it’s ‘football’.” He has spoken about feeling “on top of the world” in his current role. It is refreshing to hear after so many, namely male, head coaches have publicly treated the women’s game as a spring board and part of the journey not the destination.
Under his management Italy have drawn with Spain and Sweden, they have also beaten fellow EURO 2025 finalists Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Wales in the past 18 months. His charges endured a tricky period this year after back to back losses to Denmark and Sweden but they showed enormous character to beat Denmark in the return match 3-0 and hold Sweden to a draw.
Soncin is not afraid to make out there decisions too, after Nadine Nischler scored 40 goals in Serie C (Italian third division) she moved to Como in Serie A in August 2024. Soncin had selected her for the national team by November, he stated at the time: “We observe everything, including Serie B and Serie C, as we did with Nischler. Wearing the Italy shirt is a dream, and it’s important to give everyone the chance to fulfil it.” Nischler went on to have a phenomenal debut season in Serie A scoring double figures in the league. If that is an example of Soncin’s ability to identify and cultivate talent, Italy could be in for a special summer.
Key players for Italy at EURO 2025
Italy have quietly assembled a squad full of talent in the past few years but one ever present servant is striker Cristiana Girelli. The Juventus forward has scored on average a goal every 95 minutes in Serie A this season and is no stranger to a major tournament goal. Girelli scored three goals at the 2019 Women’s World Cup and scored the winner against Argentina in the 2023 edition. The Italian footballing icon is the third highest scorer for Le Azzure of all time.
Her former Juventus team mate is another vital cog in the Italian machine, Arianna Caruso. Caruso won two league titles this season, a by product of a move from the Italian champions to the German champions. Her father was a Roma fan and growing up Caruso’s idol was Francesco Totti and that is evident in how she plays. Winger Sofia Cantore is never shy in front of goal, and is mystifying to defenders, running with the ball at her feet with rolled down socks. Cantore will be eager to impress after her summer move stateside to Washington Spirit.
Defensively, as we have come to expect Italy are strong. Elisabetta Oliviero made 54 tackles the fifth most of any player in Serie A and made more crosses than any other player in the division. She has slowly made her mark on the international stage too, she joins Lisa Boattin and Lucia Di Guglielmo who will both provide welcome experience at the back.
Italy’s goalkeeper conundrum
A potential weak spot comes between the sticks for Italy. Laura Giuliani is the number one for for Le Azzure this year. But the goalkeeper has endured mixed form in Serie A, she had the 6th most saves behind two other Italian keepers. She also conceded more goals than any other keeper in the league despite her club AC Milan finishing fifth. Giuliani also had the nineth highest save percentage at just over 68 percent. At Euro 2022 only one goalkeeper had a lower save percentage than her 36.4 percent.
The AC Milan shot stopped was dropped for the World Cup but her replacement Francesca Durante‘s save percentage was only 38.5 percent. Giuliani has shown signs of improvement for the national team, conceding only seven goals in her last six matches. She also saved two penalties this season in the league but it still feels like a problem area for Italy.
Italy stats to impress your friends
- Italy failed to feature at the FIFA Women’s World Cup for 20 years between 1999 and 2019.
- This is the first time Italy and Spain have been drawn into the same Women’s European Championship group despite Italy qualifying for all but one edition of the competition in the past. Contrastingly Italy and Spain have been drawn into the same group at three of the past four European Championships of their male compatriots.
Italy’s Fantasy WEUROs players to keep an eye on
Italy’s record against Euro 2025 group opponents
Italy have a remarkably positive recent record against the group’s top seed and reigning world champions Spain. Since La Roja became world champions they have met Italy three times. Their most recent meeting was a friendly that ended in a 1-1 draw. Prior to that in last year’s UEFA Nations League campaign Italy and Spain traded victories by a one goal margin.
Italy have not faced Portugal since 2020 in the Algarve Cup where a Girelli injury time winner was the difference. Their last competitive meeting was when qualifying for the World Cup in 2019, Italy comfortably beat Portugal home and away. Belgium were also in that qualifying group with both sides winning a tie each. Italy would have the last laugh on that occasion qualifying ahead of Belgium for the showpiece event.
Yet Italy will pick up where they left off at the European Championships facing Belgium first, the side who dumped the Italians out of EURO 2022. The Red Flames also beat Le Azzure 2-1 a year later in the Arnold Clark Cup. With Serie A hosting the most Belgian players of any nation in Europe’s top five leagues the two sides will know each other well. Italy have scores that remained unsettled here.
Goal for Italy at EURO 2025
Defeated finalists in 1993 and 1997, Italy will be hoping they can go one further this time. However, realistically they will know that was a different side, in a different era. A return to the knockout stages would be viewed as a success and it is reported that this is the Federation’s target. But circumstances may forgive Le Azzure for dreaming of a semi final spot.
