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    Cymru vs. Italy | 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup – UWNL League Stage – Grp A4

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        Live ReportMatch Summary

        2. Rhian Wilkinson spoke to BBC Wales following the match:

          “The first-half felt like a punch in the face. Games in this campaign have been really tight, but we haven’t had a heavy defeat like this – so that first half was important because who do we want to be?

          “That second-half is more indicative of the Welsh team we all know. We’re going to look back on it as an important moment for us.”

        4. Full-time Summary

          This was not the performance or result that Cymru wanted to produce for a home crowd that had come to see them play for the last time on Welsh turf before the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 finals in Switzerland next month. However, they were treated to a stunning Jess Fishlock goal that went into the net off the underside of the crossbar.

          League A of the UEFA Nations League has been a steep learning curve for Rhian Wilkinson’s team at the top level of European football. Whilst they’ve failed to win a match, they have produced some battling performances and drew twice against Sweden. This is why the team will be so disappointed in the manner of the their 4-1 defeat to Sweden here in Swansea.

          However, in every defeat there are lessons to be learned and Cymru manager Rhian Wilkinson and her squad will take all they can from this Nations League experience as they look ahead to the summer.

        5. 📸 The strike that led to the goal.

          Cymru's Jess Fishlock scores her sides first goal during the UEFA Women’s Nations League League A Group A4 match between Wales and Italy at The Swansea.com Stadium on the 3rd of June 2025
        6. 90' + 1'

          Middleton-Patel pulls off a fine save to push Cambiaghi’s strike over the bar.

        8. 82'

          Fishlock scores a stunner! The home crowd enjoyed that.

        9. 82'

          Goal

          FISHLOCK Jessica Anne

        10. 76'

          Substitution

          Francesca Durante replaces Laura Giuliani

        11. 76'

          Substitution

          JOEL Lois replaces ROWE Rachel

        12. 76'

          Substitution

          FISHLOCK Jessica Anne replaces GRIFFITHS Alice

        13. 76'

          Substitution

          MORGAN Esther replaces GREEN Josie

        14. 68'

          The ball is sent to the far post from the corner kick but Giuliani jumps to take possession into her arms.

        15. 68'

          Substitution

          Michela Cambiaghi replaces Cristiana Girelli

        16. 67'

          Cain uses her pace to make the Italian defence backpedal. She has room to shoot and sees her effort deflect off a defender and behind for a corner.

        17. 61'

          Yellow card

          Elena Linari

        18. 56'

          Substitution

          Julie Piga replaces Martina Lenzini

        19. 53'

          Green has a chance for Cymru following Holland’s free kick into the box, however, Giuliani makes the save.

        20. 49'

          Italy are applying more pressure but the Cymru defence scramble the ball away.

        21. 46'

          The match is back underway.

        23. Half-time Summary

          After a frantic start to the first half that saw the action go end-to-end, it was Italy who took the initiative to take advantage of Cymru’s defensive frailties in a first half that Rhian Wilkinson’s team will want to forget.

          Elena Linari opened the scoring when she was on the end of a corner kick at the far post. Having been allowed both time and space, she struck the ball into the top lefthand corner.

          Italy’s second goal came from a free kick out wide on their right-wing. Manuela Giugliano placed the ball straight onto the head of Cristiana Girelli who placed the ball past Olivia Clark unchallenged.

          For Italy’s third goal, Sofia Cantore is left completely unmarked and in space inside the box where she received a cross from Angelica Soffia. She was left with an easy goal to score.

          The fourth goal was scored in added time after Clark had initially saved an effort turning it behind for a corner. The Cymru goalkeeper was forced off through injury and replaced by Safia Middleton-Patel. Her first action was to face down that corner. However, Giugliano corner was put into the back of the net by Girelli.

          There’s a lot for Wilkinson to ponder at half-time.

        24. 45' + 5'

          Giugliano corner is put into the back of the net by Girelli.

        25. 45' + 5'

          Middleton-Patel replaces Clark and her first piece of action is to face down an Italian corner.

        26. 45' + 5'

          Goal

          Cristiana Girelli

        27. 45' + 4'

          Clark has been busy in the first half but she’s been forced to leave the field through injury.

        28. 45' + 4'

          Substitution

          MIDDLETON-PATEL Safia replaces CLARK Olivia

        29. 45' + 2'

          It nearly gets worse for Cymru as Cantore gets in-between defenders to force a diving one-handed save from Clark.

        30. 45' + 1'

          A Cymru free kick into the box finds Ladd but the Cymru midfielder is only able to head the ball into the arms of Giuliani.

        32. 41'

          Cantore is left completely unmarked and in space inside the box when she receives a cross from Soffia. She’s left with an easy goal to score.

        33. 40'

          Goal

          Sofia Cantore

        34. 37'

          The resulting free kick is sent directly into the hands of Italian goalkeeper Giuliani.

        35. 35'

          Cain receives the ball, holds up play and sends a through pass for Holland’s run. As she speeds through towards the box, Holland is pulled back by Soffia, who is shown a yellow card for the foul.

        36. 35'

          Yellow card

          Angelica Soffia

        37. 📸 Jones has had the best Cymru chance during the first half.

        38. Girelli celebrates putting Italy two goals ahead.

        40. 28'

          Italy are looking dominant here as Cymru try to find a way back into the game.

        41. 26'

          Clark is forced into a diving save after Cantore strikes from distance.

        42. 21'

          Italy are awarded a free kick that Giugliano sends the ball long into the box. Girelli is left unmarked and heads the ball in for Italy’s second.

        43. 20'

          Goal

          Cristiana Girelli

        44. 📸🇮🇹

        45. 18'

          Holland flies up the right wing and crosses for Jones but the Cymru attacker gets the ball stuck under her feet. That was a great chance to level the game.

        46. 15'

          Another Italy corner but Clark makes a save to deny a shot by Soffia from the edge of the box.

        48. 📸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

        49. 9'

          The corner comes in and Cymru fail to clear with the ball eventually landing at the feet of Linari, who strikes it into the top left-hand corner.

        50. 9'

          Goal

          Elena Linari

        51. 8'

          Play now reaches the other end of the field where Italy win themselves a corner.

        52. 7'

          Holland sends the corner short to Jones who puts a dangerous cross into the box where the Italian defence do enough to clear the ball under some considerable pressure.

        53. 6'

          Woodham forces a Cymru corner following an attack up the left. Positive play by Cymru.

        54. 4'

          Both teams are showing attacking intent here during the opening exchanges. Play is going end to end and the match appears to be very open.

        55. 1'

          KICK OFF!

          Italy get the match underway.

        56. '

          Substitution

          HUGHES Elise replaces JONES Carrie

        57. '

          Substitution

          Valentina Giacinti replaces Sofia Cantore

        58. '

          Substitution

          Valentina Bergamaschi replaces Angelica Soffia

        61. Warming up! Olivia Clark is between the sticks this evening.

        62. 📸 A sneak peek inside the Cymru dressing room ahead of the game.

        63. Rachel Rowe and Gemma Evans are both starting against Italy.

        64. Captain Angharad James takes a walk on the pitch here in Swansea.

        66. Rhian Wilkinson has named her Starting XI.

        69. Gêm 243 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

        70. The Swansea.com Stadium is ready for Cymru’s final UEFA Nations League match against Italy this evening.

        71. The player’s are enjoying a pre-match walk at the team hotel.

        74. Wilkinson offers injury updates

          Cymru head coach Rhian Wilkinson also sat down with the media on Monday and offered an injury update on defenders Mayzee Davies and Rhiannon Roberts, while also highlighting Sophie Ingle’s return to training with the group earlier today.

          “The medical situation of both players are still ongoing,” said Wilkinson. “We’re making sure we’re looking after them as much as possible knowing we had two important games this window, but also knowing we have the Euros coming up too.

          “Whenever you see a player go down like Mayzee did, you’re concerned, and our fingers are crossed for her to heal quickly, but she’s also a young player, so we’re making sure she’s being looked after appropriately.

          “Sophie is ahead of schedule. When it comes to scheduling with an ACL, it’s all about how a player is feeling and feeling in the knee, and she’s feeling good. It’s good to have her back in our environment and back with the group. Sophie just needs to keep doing everything she’s doing right now.”

          Wilkinson also reflected on the narrow 1-0 defeat against Denmark on Friday and explained how her team will approach their final match in League A4 against Italy in Swansea on Tuesday night.

          “There was a lot of really good takeaways from the game, but the biggest one we walk away with is a bit of frustration because we’re getting so close now,” she explained. I don’t want to be a team that just gets close. How far the team has come in a year is remarkable that it’s not good enough to get close, we’re banging on the door, and hopefully we’re going to open one.

          “The best part of this group is that at anytime any player can step on and deliver a performance, and Italy is the next opportunity for us to show our quality. That’s not down to 11 players, but 23. Whatever line-up I have to start won’t be the one that finishes the game and we’re looking forward to putting on a good performance in Swansea.”

        77. Joel wating on opportunity to impress

          Lois Joel spent her 26th birthday speaking to the media on Monday and explained how she is looking to make the most of her opportunities to impress ahead of the the EURO finals.

          “We’ve been very clear in this campaign that our focus is on the game ahead and not the Euro’s,” said Joel. “We’re trying to push for our first win in the group and that’s the sole focus for now.

          “I’m just trying to stay ready for any opportunity that comes, the good thing is that we have a very competitive group and my job is to try and make Rhian’s job more difficult with team selection and subs, and make the most of any minutes I get.”

          Joel was also asked about Sophie Ingle following her return to training earlier in the day. “Sophie’s such a core part of our group, so well respected, so it’s great to have her back in whatever capacity,” she added.

          “It was great to see her smiling and kicking a ball – and she barely looks rusty.”

        82. Meet the Ref

          Eleni Antoniou will take charge of the UEFA Women’s Nations League match between Cymru and Italy in Swansea on Tuesday evening.

          The 40-year old from Greece has been a FIFA official for over a decade and has refereed a number of international fixtures as well as games in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

          Vasilia Tsiklitari and Zoi Papadopoulou are the assistant referees while Eirini Pingiou is the fourth official. All of the officials are from Greece.

        84. Last time in Swansea

          The match against Italy on Tuesday will be Cymru’s first match at the Swansea.com Stadium since they held Germany to a 0-0 draw back in December 2023.

          That impressive point also marked the conclusion of Cymru’s last campaign in League A and also the end of an era as it would prove to be former head coach Gemma Grainger’s last match before she made the switch to the Norwegian national team.

          Since Rhian Wilkinson’s appointment as head coach in February 2024, Cymru have played home fixtures at Wrexham, Llanelli and Cardiff. Almost 6,000 fans were in attendance for that 0-0 draw with Germany and the team will need your support once again on Tuesday night.

          Click here to purchase tickets now!

        86. Previous meetings

          Italy have a perfect record against Cymru having won all three of the previous three fixtures between the two nations, including a narrow 1-0 victory in Monza at the start of the current Nations League campaign.

          Cristiana Girelli scored twice as Italy claimed a 3-0 victory at the Cyprus Cup in March 2018. Greta Adami scored the third although Cymru goalkeeper Laura O’Sullivan-Jones did save a penalty to prevent the Italians from extending their lead any further.

          The two teams also came together for an international friendly in January 2019 at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi in Cesena. Ilaria Mauro scored both goals in a 2-0 win for Italy in the snow on a game that was notable for the fact that the Cymru players had their names on the back of their shirts for the very first time.

          An early goal from Barbara Bonansea proved to be the difference when the two teams met in Monza back in February this year in the opening game of this Nations League campaign to claim maximum points with a 1-0 win, leaving Cymru still looking for their first goal against Italy.

          Coincidently, Hayley Ladd (below) made her 50th appearance for Cymru against Italy in 2019, and then captained the side on her 100th appearance against the same opponents earlier this year.

        88. As it stands

          Relegation was confirmed for Cymru following the narrow 1-0 defeat against Denmark on Friday night as Rhian Wilkinson’s side now sit five points behind Italy heading into Tuesday’s final match of the campaign.

          However, just two points separate Italy, Sweden and Denmark to make for a exciting conclusion to League A4. Denmark head to Solna to face Sweden on Tuesday in a winner-takes-all match at the top of the group.

          The match between Cymru and Italy in at the Swansea.com Stadium will be the final fixture before the side head to Switzerland for the EURO finals in July. Tickets are still available so don’t miss your chance to show your support.

          Click here to purchase tickets now!

        90. There is no live report available for this match

        Lineups

        Starting

          Substitutes

            Starting

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                Table

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                Match Info

                Stadium

                Date & Time

                Referee

                Fourth Official

                Assistant Referees

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