Norway Women and Italy Women will kick off the Women’s European Championship knockout rounds when they face off in Wednesday’s quarter-final tie in Geneva.
The two-time European champions finished top of Group A with a perfect record, while Italy advanced following their second-placed finish in Group B.
Match preview
Norway will already be satisfied with their work at the tournament, having progressed from the Women’s Euros group stage for the first time since 2013.
They came from behind to record a 2-1 victory in their meeting with tournament hosts Switzerland, before they repeated that narrow scoreline against Finland to clinch top spot with a game to play.
With a quarter-final already secured, Norway went on to play out a seven-goal thriller against Iceland in their final group game, with Signe Gaupset and Frida Maanum netting braces in a 4-3 victory.
Norway will be slightly disappointed that they have the joint-worst defensive record of the eight teams left in the competition, matching Germany’s tally of five goals conceded in three matches.
However, they can draw inspiration from the fact that they have won their last two quarter-final ties at the Women’s Euros, recording a 3-1 victory over Sweden in 2009 before replicating that result in their last-eight clash with Spain in 2013.
Norway’s most recent Women’s European Championship meeting with Italy took place in 2005 when they recorded a 5-3 group-stage win in the joint-highest scoring game in the competition’s history.
Like Norway, Italy are set to feature in the Women’s Euros knockout rounds for the first time since the 2013 tournament in Sweden.
Italy collected four points from three matches to finish behind Spain in second spot, ensuring that they avoided a third consecutive group-stage exit.
Le Azzurre kicked off the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Belgium, before they played out a 1-1 draw in their second group game against Portugal.
Italy were unable to take anything from Friday’s meeting with 2023 World Cup winners Spain, falling to a 3-2 defeat despite opening the scoring through Elisabetta Oliviero.
The result may have ended their five-game unbeaten run, but it did not stop them from setting up a last-eight clash against Norway, with the two nations looking to progress to a semi-final against either Sweden or England.
Italy have lost their previous two Women's Euros quarter-finals in 2009 and 2019, but they have at least avoided defeat in each of their last three games against Norway (W1, D2), including two draws in the qualifying process for the tournament.
Norway Women Women's European Championship form:
Norway Women form (all competitions):
Italy Women Women's European Championship form:
Italy Women form (all competitions):
Team News
Norway will be unable to call upon defender Marit Lund, who is set to serve a one-match suspension following her late red card in Thursday's win over Iceland.
Gemma Grainger is set to recall Thea Bjelde, Ingrid Engen, Guro Reiten and Ada Hegerberg after resting the quartet for the final group game.
Barcelona star Caroline Graham Hansen will also return to the side, with the 30-year-old looking to continue her fine form after registering three goal contributions in the first two group games.
As for Italy, Andrea Soncin could be tempted to recall Fiorentina's Emma Severini and Roma's Lucia Di Guglielmo.
Cristiana Girelli will come back in to lead the line, having scored three goals across her last three starts for her country.
Those potential changes could see Barbara Bonansea, Martina Piemonte, and Oliviero drop out of the lineup for Wednesday's quarter-final.
Norway Women possible starting lineup:
Fiskerstand; Bjelde, Mjelde, Harviken, Hansen; Boe Risa, Maanum, Engen; Graham Hansen, Reiten, Hegerberg
Italy Women possible starting lineup:
Giuliani; Lenzini, Salvai, Linari; Di Guglielmo, Giugliano, Severini, Boattin; Caruso, Cantore, Girelli
We say: Norway Women 2-1 (AET) Italy Women
Norway and Italy played out draws in both of last year's meetings in Women's European Championship qualifying, and with that in mind, we think that extra time may be needed to separate the two sides in Geneva.
Grainger's side have shown a knack for finding ways to win at this tournament, and we believe that they will do just enough to squeeze through to the semi-finals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.