Italy won their first match in the Women’s European Championship since 2009 as Arianna Caruso struck just before the break to give them a 1-0 win over Belgium in their Group B opener on Thursday.
Lucia Di Guglielmo’s quick pass from the right found Caruso unmarked just outside the box and the Bayern Munich midfielder calmly curled a right-footed shot away from goalkeeper Lisa Lichtfus to find the net by the near post.
Caruso probed the Belgian defence with multiple attempts in the first 20 minutes of a match that was preceded by a minute’s silence following the death of Portuguese national men’s team striker Diogo Jota in a car accident.
Belgium had more of the ball in the first half and made 10 attempts, two more than Italy, but failed to take the lead, with Mariam Toloba shooting wide in the 26th minute and Tessa Wullaert missing the target from close range four minutes before Caruso’s goal.
Lichtfus’s quick reflexes kept out Cristiana Girelli’s close-range back-flick in the 64th minute to keep Belgium in the game, but the 2022 quarter-finalists were unable to find an equaliser as Italy made their first winning start in the tournament since 2009.
Italy will continue their campaign against Portugal on Monday, while Belgium play Nations League winners Spain.
Reuters