Manuela Heidenberger & Co. provided information to SportNews. © ANSA / FAZRY ISMAIL

“We will learn a lot from this defeat.”

Although Italy's women's national team was able to keep pace with Sweden for much of their second group match at the Milan Olympics, they ultimately suffered a crushing 1-6 defeat. The 47-19 shot differential impressively underscores the Scandinavians' superiority. Nevertheless, the "Azzurre" took away many positives, as they reported after the final whistle.

February 07, 2026

From: kp

Franziska Stocker from Leifers is currently playing her fourth season in Sweden and scored the consolation goal for the hosts. "I'm satisfied with the team's performance. We never gave up and showed fighting spirit and passion. There were long stretches of suffering, but at times we also put them under pressure. They demonstrated their great technical skills and scored some beautifully executed goals. The spectators were once again a huge help: it's indescribable to play in front of such enthusiastic fans, and thanks to their support, we fought until the very end. Qualification for the quarterfinals is still in our hands. We will learn from this game against Sweden and come back even stronger."

Captain Nadia Mattivi, however, said: “It was the toughest game in years. Sweden is undoubtedly one of the best teams in the world right now. At times we were able to keep up with them, but then a few mistakes cost us the victory. You can learn from situations like these, too. We still have two games ahead of us to achieve our first goal. The game against Japan will probably be decisive: The Asian team is a completely different opponent, better structured and playing a less physical and technical style.”

A unique experience

“It was an intense game,” Manuela Heidenberger asserted, adding: “We kept up well in the first 20 minutes, but inexplicably dropped off significantly in the second period. We can learn a lot from this. You can lose against Sweden. They are a very strong team with many excellent players.”

Nadia Mattivi describes it as a very difficult match. © APA/afp / JULIEN DE ROSA

The forward from Oberbozen, who has been chasing the puck for Finnish runner-up HPK for two years, is the youngest player on coach Eric Bouchard's team at 18 and is thrilled by the atmosphere in the stands: "I've never played in front of so many people in my life. The atmosphere in the arena is indescribable. The fans constantly urge us on and are a huge help. Qualifying for the quarterfinals is still definitely possible. We'll give it our all against both Japan on Monday and Germany on Tuesday and focus solely on ourselves."