Italy have certified for his or her first European semi-final since 1997 as Cristiana Girelli scored twice in a dramatic 2-1 win over Norway.
The 35-year-old stepped as much as ship for her nation as soon as once more, surviving a VAR overview to faucet house the opener earlier than heading a last-gasp winner to arrange a gathering with both England or Sweden, who play in Zurich on Thursday, within the final 4.
“It’s incredible, beautiful. In front of all these people, so many messages arrived from Italy the last few days,” elated Italy coach Andrea Soncin mentioned.
“It’s something fantastic. I think this is the biggest gift we can give to all those who watch us, to all those little girls, those young women who live football with passion.”
Sandwiched between Girelli’s double had been two key moments for Norway’s iconic striker, Ada Hegerberg, who squandered her second penalty of those finals, sweeping extensive of the goal.
Atonement arrived six minutes later, levelling the tie, however the earlier spot-kick miss got here again to chunk.
“It’s bitter, it’s really bitter,” Hegerberg mirrored. “I must honestly say that I am proud of the group and how we have performed. We are close to being in the top four in Europe, but it’s not enough.”
Norway have at all times been an almost crew at main tournaments. They had been far too passive on the evening, defensively disorganised, and did not cope with Italy’s menace from extensive.
Sofia Cantore, proper, arrange each of Italy’s targets
Each of Italy’s targets had been created within the channels by Sofia Cantore, with Girelli’s Ninetieth-minute winner testomony to the veteran striker’s immense aerial capacity, assembly a superbly weighted cross with a swish leap to direct her header just below the crossbar.
Girelli – the oldest participant to attain greater than as soon as for a European nation in a single match at a serious event – now has 61 targets for Italy, and the final three all went into the identical internet on the mountains finish of the Stade de Geneve stadium.
How Euro quarter-finals stand
All kick-offs at 8pm BST
July 16
QF1: Norway 1-2 Italy (Geneva)
July 17
QF3: Sweden vs England (Zurich)
July 18
QF2: Spain vs Switzerland (Bern)
July 19
QF4: France vs Germany (Basel)
