Goal achieved: the Italian women are among the eight best in the world. Japan beaten 3-2 with a brace from the talented Fantin
The Italian women are on fire: they are in the quarterfinals of Milan Cortina 2026, among the top eight in the world. The Italian women, in front of 3,769 spectators at Rho Fiera, have achieved another feat. They beat Japan 3-2 (2-0, 0-1, 1-0), a team that on paper is much more highly rated – sixth in Beijing 2022 and eighth in the world rankings, with Eric Bocuhard’s national team in eighteenth place – and sensationally achieved their goal. It is equivalent to winning Olympic gold. The top three teams in a group of five will qualify. The current standings see Sweden on 9 points (with 3 games played), Italy on 6 (idem), Germany and Japan on 3 (with 2 and 3) and France on 0 (with 2). Later in the day, Germany will play France, while tomorrow Sweden will play Japan and then (at 4:40 p.m., again at Rho Fiera) Italy will play Germany. But these matches will be almost irrelevant: the hosts, with head-to-head matches counting as a tiebreaker in the event of two teams finishing level on points and three teams finishing level on points, can already celebrate.
In the head-to-head match on Friday or Saturday, there will most likely be a challenge against Canada or the United States. But from here on out, it will be nothing but entertainment and fun. Nadia Mattevi and her teammates, protagonists of a performance full of emotions, deserve heartfelt applause.
With Gabriella Durante as the starting goalkeeper this time, Matilde Fantin, a 19-year-old forward from Como who plays for Penn State University, deserves special mention. She is a predestined player with extraordinary talent, scoring three goals in three games. Her double in the first period (at 12:34 and 18:51) paved the way for victory. The goals, after the one against France, were almost identical, with rockets fired from left to right into the corner of the Japanese goal. The second came after 17 seconds of numerical superiority. The middle period was a struggle; Japan (15 shots to 4) took a decisive lead and already at 2:48 shortened the gap with Rui Ukita. There are changes in the lines, but the visitors fail to capitalize on their greater speed of action. The second period ends 2-1.
What a finale— And the turning point comes just 37 seconds into the final period. Kristin Della Rovere’s stick sends a dangerous puck flying: shot-rebound-shot and goal for 3-1. Unbelievable. Now the game is played almost exclusively in the Italian zone. The Japanese pressure is suffocating. There is one power play per side that goes unused. But the 3-2 is almost inevitable. It is scored by Akane Shiga: several replays are needed to verify that the puck has actually crossed the goal line. It has. At 17:38, with 2:42 left in the game, the Japanese pull their goalie to have an extra skater on the ice. It’s 6 against 5. The Italian fortress holds out, tooth and nail. And the final buzzer confirms a result that very few would have bet on. It is worth remembering that this is only the second Olympic experience in the history of the national team and that in the first, in Turin in 2006 – without detracting from the commitment of the athletes at the time – they scored one goal and conceded 32. The Italdonne project, which started a long time ago, has now come to fruition.
