Football General Manager
Italy started the brighter of the two sides, with Arianna Caruso going close in the eighth minute when she drove into the box, muscled past two defenders, before firing a shot just wide. After Emma Severini and Cristiana Girelli got in each other’s way when going for a close-range header, the former then tested Cecilie Fiskerstrand, but it was a comfortable stop for the Norway goalkeeper.
At the other end, Ada Hegerberg nearly bundled the ball home after a goalmouth scramble, followed by Signe Gaupset firing a 45-yard strike narrowly past the post.
The breakthrough finally came in the 51st minute when Italy captain Girelli touched in Sofia Cantore’s cross-shot for her 60th goal for her country. Severini thought she had made it 2-0 after turning the ball under the body of the keeper but Caruso was offside in the build-up.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Italy conceded a penalty when Elena Linari brought down Hegerberg in the penalty area but the experienced striker missed the goal entirely with her woeful spot-kick. However, the Lyon skipper atoned for her shocking miss when she rolled the ball under Giuliani in the 66th minute following a simple ball over the top, which the Italians failed to deal with.
Just as it seemed as if the contest would be heading for extra-time, Girelli came up trumps again when she powered in a header in the 90th minute at Letzigrund in Zurich. The Italians reached their first Euros semi-final since 1997, while Norway suffered another heartache in the competition.
Who else but Italy captain Girelli? The 35-year-old Juventus striker delivered once again, just when her country needed her most. She showed her poacher’s instincts for the opener and her headed second was inch-perfect. They are in the semi-finals because of her.
While Hegerberg did miss a penalty, she made up for her error soon after with a goal. However, Norway’s defence as a whole was repeatedly found wanting – not just in this game, but throughout the tournament. For a team stacked with stars, they have underperformed again.
Italy will now face the winner of the second quarter-final tie between defending champions England and Sweden in Geneva next Tuesday. France will lock horns with Germany and World Cup winners Spain take on hosts Switzerland in the remaining last-eight ties.
