Women's Euro 2025: Italian women's footballers reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1997

They've been waiting for this since 1997. The Italian women's national team secured their place in the Euro semi-finals in Switzerland at the expense of 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hergerberg's Norway (2-1) on Wednesday, July 16. The Azzurre, who had not reached the semi-finals of the competition for nearly thirty years, will face either defending champions England or Sweden in the next round, who face off on Thursday evening in Zurich.

When referee Stéphanie Frappart blew the whistle for the end of the game, Italian captain Cristiana Girelli fell into the arms of her coach, Andrea Soncin, before going to hug her teammates in front of the 26,000 spectators, including many tifosi, at the Stade de Genève.

The 35-year-old striker from Juventus Turin – the club crowned Italian champions this season – gave the Transaplines qualification with a header under the crossbar in the ^90th minute, before coming off the pitch for added time. She had already scored her side's first goal in the ^{50th minute} .

Although the Norwegians were generally dominated in this match, they may have some regrets. Their captain, Ada Hergerberg, missed a penalty on the hour mark, before finding the back of the net six minutes later.

Andrea Soncin, who took charge of a crisis-hit Italian women's team in September 2023, is writing a new chapter in the history of the Azzurre, temporarily making their male counterparts forget the sporting setbacks. Italy, ranked ^13th by the international federation (FIFA), is still chasing its first major title.