Italy crushes Argentina at the very end of the match

Argentina ended up folding. The rugged South Americans held on for 87 minutes before giving in to Italy (1-0) on Monday, July 24, for the first match for the two teams in this World Cup. The Squadra Azzurra largely dominated the match, seeing two goals logically disallowed in the first half for offside. Cristiana Girelli, just coming on, made the difference in the 87th minute. The Transalpines return to Sweden, also winner at the finish Sunday of South Africa, at the head of group G.

It was not yet their first victory in a World Cup, but Argentina held on for a long time. Aggressive defensively if not dangerous with the ball, German Portanova’s players had been able to be disciplined at the right time. Arianna Caruso (15th), then Valentina Giacinti (42nd) had their goals disallowed for offside, the fault of an Argentinian block put up wisely. But in physical difficulty in the second period, they did not manage to go the distance. And Girelli arose to register with a pretty lobed header the only goal of the match (87th).

The Argentines could have made a big blow in stoppage time on one of their rare attempts on target, a powerful free kick from Florencia Bonsegundo (90 + 4th) well dismissed by Italian goalkeeper Francesca Durante. Too little, too late. Italy will face Sweden on Saturday (9:30 a.m., on France 2 and France.tv) for the shock of the leaders of this group G.