Italy goes into Tuesday's Sweden Vs Italy match in Gothenburg needing three points and a favor elsewhere to keep its World Cup qualification hopes alive without dropping into the end-of-year play-offs. Barbara Bonansea, fresh off her 33rd goal for the National Team, is among the players carrying the pressure into Gamla Ullevi.
The match kicks off at 19:00 CEST and is the final game in Italy's qualifying group campaign. A win over Sweden would only be part of the job: Denmark must also lose in Serbia for Italy to avoid the play-offs, while a draw in Serbia would be enough for Denmark to take direct qualification and push Italy out of the automatic places.
That is why the search around Sweden Vs Italy is spiking now. Italy is chasing a first away victory over Sweden, the only Scandinavian side Andrea Soncin's team has not beaten during his tenure, and the result also carries weight for seeding ahead of the next Nations League. Around 14,000 spectators are expected at Gamla Ullevi, where Soncin's side will try to turn a promising display in Pisa against Serbia into something more decisive.
Soncin has tried to keep the picture simple. He said the camp began with one objective: to be the best version of the team, without worrying about results on other pitches, even if the odds of overtaking Denmark have narrowed. He still wants the three points for second place in the rankings and for a better seed next time, and he warned that Sweden will be a very different opponent because of its greater aggression. Italy, he said, will need quicker circulation, sharper movement into space and mental speed to match it.
Bonansea's view is more direct. She said Italy is facing the only team that has beaten it in this group and that the side wants to respond and refocus because the three points remain hugely important. The forward, who will turn 35 on 13 June, is preparing to begin her tenth season at Juventus and her fourteenth in the Azzurre shirt, a run that gives her words a weight this group will feel if the match tightens late.
The contradiction in Italy's path is plain enough: a win in Gothenburg may still not be enough if Denmark gets the result it needs in Serbia. For Soncin and Bonansea, that means Tuesday is not just about breaking Sweden away from home for the first time. It is about doing everything in their own hands, then waiting to see whether the rest of Europe gives Italy the door it needs.
