Franziska Stocker (front) aims to reach the Olympic quarterfinals with Italy. © Vanna Antonello

Here we go: The Azzurre have big plans at the Olympics

The women's Olympic ice hockey tournament starts on Thursday, one day before the official opening ceremony and six days before the men's tournament begins. Germany and Sweden will play the first match today at 12:10 pm. Italy will face France at 2:40 pm.

February 04, 2026

From: kp

For the 23 players of host nation Italy, the Olympic dream comes true this afternoon. In Group B, they will face France, Sweden (Saturday, February 7), Japan (Monday, February 9), and Germany (Tuesday, February 10). The team, led by captain Nadia Mattivi, aims to reach the quarterfinals. To achieve this, they must finish in the top three of their group.

The five teams in Group A – Canada, USA, Finland, Czech Republic, and Switzerland – have already qualified for the quarterfinals. After yesterday's final training session, Italy's head coach, Eric Bouchard, looked ahead to the upcoming tournament: "The girls are ready and want to play every substitution without fear. The preparation in Montreal was excellent, and that gives us a lot of confidence."

With the exception of Laura Fortino, who already competed in Sochi and Pyeongchang, all the other players are making their Olympic debut. "They've all dreamed of this moment since childhood. Mastering the details will be crucial for us, starting with defense. We don't want to reinvent the wheel and have a precise game plan. The girls' job will be to stick to it as best as possible: avoiding mistakes, controlling the puck well, keeping a close eye on the game, and making quick shifts," the Canadian coach reminded everyone.

Italy's team starts its Olympic tournament against France. © Vanna Antonello

The "Azzurre" have had an intense few months. In April 2025, they completely dominated the World Championship of Division I Group B in Dumfries, Scotland, winning all five games with a goal difference of 31:0. In August, they suffered two narrow defeats against Japan (2:3 and 3:4) but celebrated two clear victories against Slovakia (7:2 and 5:1).

In November, they secured two victories against Norway (4-0) and Austria (2-0) before the "Blue Team" relocated to Canada for seven weeks of intensive training on the ice and in the weight room. In Montreal, Bouchard's team played several exhibition games against Canadian university teams, remaining undefeated. Last week, Mattivi and his teammates completed a short training camp in Neumarkt before moving into the Olympic Village on Friday.

France's women's national team is participating in the Olympic Games for the first time in history. The French team, including Alice Philbert, goalkeeper for EVB Eagles Südtirol, secured their Olympic ticket a year ago as the best runner-up at the last qualifying tournament and are currently ranked 14th in the world, while the "Azzurre" are ranked 17th.