At the end of round 3 of group stage games at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Italy was knocked out of the competition. Italy’s elimination was confirmed after the Azzurre suffered a 3-2 loss against South Africa. The loss saw Italy end their run at the World Cup with 3 points, courtesy of their opening game victory against Argentina. Their sweet victory on matchday 1 quickly turned sour after they faced a ruthless Sweden side that put five goals past them in their second group stage match. Sweden’s rout was not enough to knock them out of the tournament. With their fate still in their own hands, a victory over South Africa was all they required to make it to the round of 16.
A 3-2 loss against South Africa in their last match of the group stages was Italy’s undoing. A late goal scored in additional time sent Italy packing and eliminated them from the World Cup at group stage level.
The loss secured second place for South Africa, sending Italy further down Group G’s rankings. Sweden came out winners of the group with 9 points out of a possible 9 after winning all their group stage games. South Africa emerged runner ups with 4 points courtesy of their late win against Italy, while Italy and Argentina were shown the way home at the end of the group stage.
Barcelona’s youngster, Gulia Dragoni, played the full 90 minutes in the game against South Africa. Despite Italy’s elimination, the 16 year old has set a record by being the ninth youngest footballer in history to play in a World Cup tournament and the sixth youngest to ever start a FIFA World Cup match. Dragoni played a total of 232 minutes in three games, starting all three games for her country.
