Main referee Alina Pesu pointed to the penalty spot deep into stoppage time. It was basically the last thing that happened in Friday's highly dramatic football clash at Strawberry arena.
Fridolina Rolfö stepped forward, slammed in 3–2 and secured Sweden's second win in three matches in the Nations League.
It was a tough match today with a tough start. But we fought the whole match and it's an extra nice feeling to score the winner, says Rolfö.
The over 14,000 in the stands were treated to almost everything in terms of entertainment, and it started right away as Italy silenced the home crowd.
A diagonal pass from Manuela Giugliano to Chiara Beccari, a cross and a perfect curling shot by Emma Severini, who scored 1–0 for Italy with the outside of her foot. The match had only been going on for 20 seconds.
An incredibly tough start, it's not how you want to begin, says Rolfö.
A real cold shower, says Sweden's goalkeeper Jennifer Falk.
Saved with her face
Sweden beat Italy 5–0 in the 2023 World Championship. But today's Italian national team is something else. Andrea Soncin took over as head coach after the World Championship and has created a team to be respected.
The home team had the most possession as expected, but a rapid Italy threatened at every counter-attack. In the 12th minute, it was very close to an Italian 2–0, but Jennifer Falk saved the heavy shot with her face.
She lay down, but got up. So did Sweden.
The equalizer came at the beginning of the second half.
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Stina Blackstenius cleverly played their way through the Italian backline and served a deep-running Hanna Lundkvist. The Swedish right-back sent the ball in front of the goal and captain Kosovare Asllani pressed in 1–1 in the 56th minute.
Free-kick cannon
Shortly after, Sweden got a golden opportunity to complete the turnaround when Blackstenius was fouled in the penalty area by Italian goalkeeper Laura Giuliani.
But Giuliani immediately redeemed herself by saving Filippa Angeldahl's penalty.
A quarter of an hour later, it was Angeldahl's turn to redeem herself when she slammed in a free-kick in the top-right corner in the 75th minute.
Michela Cambiaghi headed in the equalizer in the 85th minute, and seemed to cause Sweden a setback in the hunt for first place in the group.
But in stoppage time, an Italian handball gave Fridolina Rolfö the opportunity to secure three points for Sweden.
Magdalena Eriksson was never worried.
A really intense football match, summarizes the Swedish center-back.
I had a strong feeling that we were the better team. I had that faith all the way in. I think we win deservedly.
Corrected: An earlier version had the wrong goal-scorer for Italy's 1–0. The correct scorer is Emma Severini.
The table in group A4 after three of six rounds:
-
Sweden, 7 points, +2 goal difference.
-
Denmark, 6, +2.
-
Italy, 3, –2.
-
Wales, 1, –2.
Remaining matches:
April 8: Sweden–Wales, Denmark–Italy.
May 30: Italy–Sweden, Denmark–Wales.
June 3: Wales–Italy, Sweden–Denmark.
