Girelli's last-gasp header sends Italy into semi-finals
Passive Norway get just deserts at Euro 2025 as Ada Hegerberg misses from the spot again
Italy have reached the semi-finals of a European Championship for the first time since 1997 after defeating Norway 2-1 in Geneva.
Cristiana Girelli’s 90th-minute header caused the sorts of scenes you would expect from a last-gasp quarter-final winner. Italy head coach Andrea Soncin rushed down the touchline to join his players in the goal celebrations and there were emotional reactions at the final whistle as the whole squad celebrated a historic moment for Italian women’s football.
Italy were runners up at the 1993 and 1997 tournaments but had been unable to get beyond the quarter-finals since. In 2022, this side failed to even get out of the group stage.
Here, brave and determined, they defeated a Norway team stacked with Champions League and league-title winners. However, Gemma Grainger’s side got their just deserts for a very poor tournament during which they looked second best in the majority of their fixtures.
It was Italy who took the lead in the 50th minute through the first of Girelli’s two goals. They had dominated in the first half, getting lots of joy down Norway’s right-hand side, and after failing to find a breakthrough, the moment finally arrived at the start of the second period.
Norway had conceded too much space on both flanks as Grainger had taken an aggressive option to stick Guro Reiten at left-back and an advancing Thea Bjelde on the right. Sofia Cantore found space as Norway retreated, and her pass from the right-hand side of the box was guided into the net by the smallest touch from Girelli.
Italy looked like they were in a commanding position, but the perils of their group stage, where they led in two out of three games and only managed to claim one win, came back to haunt them.
The first opportunity for Norway to change the game came in the 60th minute when Elena Linari held Ada Hegerberg in the box and Stephanie Frappart awarded a penalty.
Hegerberg once again crumbled under the pressure and missed the resulting penalty, this time going wide to the right of the goal rather than the left side on which she missed against Switzerland earlier in the tournament.
The prolific striker’s time would come again though. Just six minutes later she slid a finish past Laura Giuliani and put Norway on the brink of another flukey turnaround.
The Italians had other ideas. As both sides struggled to create much in the final 20 minutes, the game looked to be creeping towards extra time and penalties. But with one last surge of energy, Girelli - a master of headers - would this time nod home another Cantore cross and cause pandemonium in the stands and on the Italian bench.
It was the first time Italy had scored more than one goal all tournament - and what a time to do it.
What defined Italy’s match
Suffering. Italy certainly didn’t have the depth on their bench to handle another 30 minutes of football, but there was a desire and desperation to dig in and get a result. This team has shown throughout the tournament that they are believers, confident they can punch above their weight.
Italy’s midfield worked hard to press Norway’s defenders and force early moments of pressure in the first 20 minutes. That aggressive energy only made Norway look more vulnerable and created momentum for the Italians.
This tie was an opportunity for Italy and they took it.
What defined Norway’s match
Complacency. Norway have spent much of this tournament looking passive, disjointed and lazy. They progressed through to the quarter-finals getting lucky in key moments. There wasn’t one game in which they looked convincing across 90 minutes and it was more of the same here.
They conceded six shots to Italy in the first half, two on target (Statsbomb) and should have been 1-0 down by the break. Once Italy’s breakthrough did come Norway failed to meaningfully adapt, continuing to play with the hope that something would fall into their lap. And it did briefly, first through the penalty and then through the equaliser.
Ultimately Norway only have themselves to blame with this exit.
Something you might have missed
It was the work of Cantore, who set up both goals, and Barbara Bonansea, as the right and left of Italy’s front three that proved to be the difference.
Their remit was simple: if the midfield press and win the ball, exploit any space outside Norway’s full-backs. The passing map below illustrates just how often both Cantore and Bonansea were finding opportunities out wide and behind Norway’s defence.
What next?
Italy will now have a few days rest as they await the winner of Sweden-England tomorrow night in Zurich.
That semi-final clash will take place in Geneva on 22 July.