Italy Delivers Biggest Gift With Thrilling Victory Over Norway In Euro 2025 Semi-Finals

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Andrea Soncin expressed immense joy as Italy secured a spot in the Euro 2025 semi-finals with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Norway. The decisive moment came when Cristiana Girelli scored a dramatic winner in the 90th minute, marking Italy's first appearance in the final four of a major tournament since 1997. This achievement was celebrated as a significant milestone for Italian women's football.

Italy initially took the lead in the 50th minute through Girelli's goal. However, Norway's Ada Hegerberg equalised 16 minutes later, despite having missed an earlier penalty. As the match seemed destined for extra time, Girelli struck again, her header bouncing off the crossbar to secure Italy's win. This made Italy only the second team to score a last-minute winner in a Women's Euro knockout match, following Sweden's feat against Belgium in 2022.

At 35 years and 84 days old, Girelli became the oldest player to score multiple goals for a European nation in a single major tournament match. Her tally of eight goals in major tournaments is surpassed only by Carolina Morace's 12 for Italy. The winning goal ignited jubilant celebrations at Stade de Geneve, with Soncin joining his team on the touchline to revel in the moment.

"It's incredible, beautiful," Soncin remarked. "In front of all these people, so many messages arrived from Italy the last few days." He described it as "something fantastic" and considered it "the biggest gift we can give to all those who watch us," especially inspiring young girls and women passionate about football.

Italy now prepares to face either England or Sweden for a place in the final. For Norway, this loss added to their recent struggles in major tournaments' latter stages. They have now lost their last three knockout stage games (World Cup/Euros), matching their longest streak of defeats from previous tournaments.

Ada Hegerberg had a challenging outing as she became the first player since 2013 to miss two penalties at the Euros. Reflecting on Norway's performance, she said, "It's bitter, it's really bitter." Despite her disappointment, Hegerberg expressed pride in her team's efforts and acknowledged their proximity to being among Europe's top four teams.

Norway has now missed five out of six penalties at Women's Euros since records began in 2013. This accounts for half of all penalty misses by teams during that period (five out of ten). The team's penalty woes have been a significant factor in their recent tournament exits.