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Cristiana Girelli Fires Italy into Women's Euro 2025 Semifinals

Posted : 17 July 2025

Cristiana Girelli was the hero for Italy on Wednesday as her brace—including a last-minute header—secured a 2-1 victory over Norway and a place in the semifinals of the Women’s Euro 2025. The thrilling win in Geneva marks a historic moment for the Azzurre, who hadn’t reached the tournament's last four since finishing runners-up to Germany in 1997. They now face either defending champions England or Sweden in the semifinal clash next Tuesday.

 

The Juventus striker opened the scoring shortly after halftime and later sealed the win in stoppage time with a perfectly placed header from a Sofia Cantore cross. The 35-year-old veteran now has 61 international goals, but her two against Norway might be the most defining of her career.

 

Norway, led by stars Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen, entered the match as favorites but were second-best for much of the contest. Hegerberg, who once won the Ballon d’Or Féminin, missed a crucial penalty in the second half—just as she did earlier in the tournament. Although she did equalize moments later, capitalizing on a goalkeeping error by Laura Giuliani, it wasn’t enough to keep Norway alive.

 

Italy created numerous chances early on but struggled with finishing. Arianna Caruso squandered a golden opportunity in the 9th minute, and Emma Severini later failed to convert after a clever assist from Caruso. Girelli even impeded Severini's chances by misjudging a cross she couldn’t reach, further frustrating Italy’s early efforts.

 

Norway nearly punished Italy's wastefulness when Thea Bjelde’s cross deflected off Hegerberg and narrowly missed the open net. But Italy persisted and finally broke the deadlock through Girelli, before surviving a Norwegian surge that included Hegerberg’s missed penalty and eventual goal.

 

Just when extra time seemed inevitable, Cantore delivered a high-quality cross that Girelli met with precision, sending the Italian fans into jubilation and setting up a mouthwatering semifinal encounter against one of the tournament's heavyweights.

 

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