Arianna Caruso shot Italy to victory. © ANSA / CYRIL ZINGARO

Italy starts the Women's European Championship with victory

Italy's women's national football team started the European Championship with a narrow victory.

July 03, 2025

From: dl

The Azzurre beat Belgium 1-0 in Sion on Thursday evening. Bayern Munich player Arianna Caruso scored the decisive goal just before halftime. Caruso calmly collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area after a pass from Lucia Di Guglielmo and fired a stunning shot into the left corner.

A minute's silence was held before the match for the late Liverpool player Diogo Jota. Italy now faces Portugal in their tough group on Monday evening. Next Friday, Andrea Soncin's team will face title favorites Spain. The win against Belgium was narrow, but by no means undeserved. The Italians secured their first victory at a European Championship finals since 2017.

Eva Schatzer on the bench

South Tyrolean Eva Schatzer got her first taste of European football in Switzerland, but the 20-year-old was not a substitute against Belgium. The Juventus midfielder, who won the Scudetto this year as a regular with the Old Lady, faces stiff competition for her position in the Italian national team.

In the evening match, Spain celebrated a dominant 5-0 victory against Portugal. Alexia Putellas and her team were already 4-0 up at halftime. The world champions thus underlined their role as favorites at this European Championship.