Cristiana Girelli’s lone goal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 gives Italy a 1-0 victory over Argentina

Italy defeated Argentina 1-0 on Monday night to win the first match of the Women’s World Cup. Cristiana Girelli’s goal in the 87th minute broke a scoreless tie.

Prior to Girelli’s game-changing header, Italy scored twice in the first period, but both goals were offside. In the 83rd minute of the game, Girelli entered as a replacement.

The Italians have never lost their first World Cup game.But this time, they had to deal with a determined Argentina that was vying for its first-ever tournament victory. La Albiceleste were motivated to compete in the World Cup by their men’s team and star Lionel Messi, who returned with the World Cup title from Qatar late in the previous year.

Italy has achieved more on the big stage, making it to the World Cup quarterfinals in 2019 after defeating China 2-0 in the round of 16. The Netherlands defeated the Italians and went on to lose to the United States in the championship match.

At the Eden Park game, Argentina had a rowdy group of supporters, including a drum corps. It was reported that 30,889 people attended the game.

After a 12-year hiatus, Argentina’s women competed in the World Cup in France four years ago, but they struggled. After losing to England and drawing with Japan, they played to a tie with Scotland, but they were unable to earn enough points to go on from their group.

In the 15th minute, Juventus professional Arianna Caruso seemed to score from a distance, but Italy was shortly called offside. The 23-year-old was the first female Juventus player to make 100 appearances.

She was a midfielder, and early on in the game, she was one of Italy’s most threatening players. However, she received a yellow card in the 25th minute and was replaced in the 58th.

On Valentina Giacinti’s attempted goal late in the half, Italy was once again caught offside.

Early in the second half, Italy’s Manuela Giugliano had a chance, but her shot missed the goal.

In the 73rd minute, Italy’s Lara Esponda stopped an aggressive free kick by Argentina.