07/24/2023 5:57 a.m. Updated to 07/24/2023 8:49 a.m.
Did not reach. The good performance of the Argentine National Team in its debut in the Women’s World Cup was not reflected in the final result. Despite the good image left by the team led by Germán Portanova, Italy kept all three points thanks to a Girelli cabazao in the 87th minute, yes, a little from the end when the tie already seemed sung. A pity, although it is key to turn the page and focus on the next game.
Portanova kept his word and, since the Honduran Melissa Borja blew the initial whistle, the team went out looking for the equal match against a rival, in the previous one, superior. During the first half, the National Team maintained an intensity worthy of a team that intends to be the protagonist. Estefanía Banini shone and showed why she is the star of this Selection. Throwing pipes, overflowing on the wing and teaming up with Florencia Bonsegundo in search of the goal received applause from much of the 30,889 fans who attended Auckland’s Eden Park.
The duo Daiana Falfán and Lorena Benítez showed solidity in the midfield and, with a precise rotation when going up and down, they sought to take care of the defensive zone. Although at times they could have assisted the forwards better, the Palmeiras player was one of the key pieces so they could go into halftime with a clean sheet. Aldana Cometti’s cunning to shrink forward was also important: Italy had two goals disallowed (well) for offside. At minute 43, the first corner kick came for Argentina, in which they sought to make a prepared move that did not prosper. Although intensity and grit prevailed in the first 45 minutes of play, Francesca Durante’s failure to reach the goal was what made them close the first half goalless.
The second part aroused the emotion of those who were in their homes in Argentina in the middle of the night, turned on to the screen, unable to understand if the game time was too late or too early. Eliana Stábile hit a left-footed free kick that ended in rejection by the Italian goalkeeper when the ball was about to enter the far post and in the cold Auckland afternoon more than one grabbed his head.
Lorena Benítez’s changes in front, Larroquette’s pressure up front, Bonsegundo’s assist and Vanina Correa’s hands clearing Juventus midfielder Arianna Caruso’s shots were sustained throughout the match. The experience of the goalkeeper from Rosario Central, the only one called to play in the four World Cups in Argentina, allowed her to be the authorized voice to order her teammates from the vision that her location in the goal gives her..
At 76 minutes, when Italy was coming and was already superior to Argentina, DT decided to make a change. Yamila Rodríguez entered for Romina Núñez with the aim of taking advantage of her dribbling and her speed. The idea was to go looking for the win. But the intensity with which they started the game diminished and the physical difference with Italy began to show. Those directed by Milena Bertolini were more incisive. Despite the tenacity with which Italy searched for the goal, Argentina never gave up resistance. The fight for the goal did not stop.
The desire for the legs to resist until the end was a key driver to resist until the final minutes when history changed. At 83 minutes, Cristiana Girelli, the historic Juventus striker, entered, who took just four minutes to puncture the illusion of the National Team. A header in the area, beating Stábile in the jump, overcame Correa and thus, towards the end, Italy went 1-0.
Portanova did not give up on his conviction and after 89 minutes he made other changes: Ippolito for Falfán and Gramaglia for Larroquette. But there was no time. Argentina fell in the debut but showed more positive things than negative. There is nothing lost yet. Now to think about South Africa. Let’s go Argentina.
Videos of the match:
NEW ZEALAND (SPECIAL SENT).
2023-07-24 08:49:38
#pity #Argentina #lost
