Goal achieved: The Italian women’s team is among the top eight in the world. They defeated Japan 3-2 with a two-goal performance by the incredibly talented Fantin
The Italian women’s team is on a roll: through to the quarterfinals of Milan-Cortina 2026, among the top eight in the world. At Rho Fiera, in front of 3,769 spectators, the Italian women’s team pulled off another feat. They defeated Japan 3-2 (2-0, 0-1, 1-0), a team that on paper was far more highly regarded—sixth at Beijing 2022 and eighth in the world rankings, while Eric Bocuhard’s national team is ranked 18th—and sensationally achieved their goal. This is equivalent to winning Olympic gold. The top three teams in a five-team group will advance. The current standings show Sweden with 9 points (after 3 games), Italy with 6 (same), Germany and Japan with 3 (after 2 and 3 games, respectively), and France with 0 (after 2 games). Later today, Germany will face France, while tomorrow’s schedule features Sweden vs. Japan first, followed by (at 4:40 p.m., again at Rho Fiera) Italy vs. Germany. But these matches will be largely inconsequential: the hosts—since head-to-head results serve as the tiebreaker if two teams finish with the same number of points and the standings among three teams are considered separately—can already celebrate. In the head-to-head matchup, on Friday or Saturday, they will most likely face either Canada or the United States. But from here on out, it’s all about the show. And the fun.
Nadia Mattevi and her teammates, the stars of a performance full of thrills, deserve a heartfelt round of applause. With Gabriella Durante as the starting goaltender this time, special mention goes to Matilde Fantin, a 19-year-old forward from Como who plays for Penn State University—a prodigy with extraordinary talent who has scored three goals in three games. Her two-goal performance in the first period (at 12’34” and 18’51”) paved the way for victory. The goals, following the one against France, were almost carbon copies of each other, with rocket shots fired from left to right into the corner of the Japanese net. The second came 17 seconds into a power play. The second period was a struggle; Japan (15 shots to 4) clearly took control and pulled one back as early as 2:48 with a goal by Rui Ukita. There were line changes, but the visitors failed to capitalize on their faster pace of play. The score at the second intermission was 2–1.
What a finish— And the turning point came just 37 seconds into the final period. A dangerous shot from Kristin Della Rovere’s stick led to a shot-block-shot sequence and a goal to make it 3–1. Unbelievable. Now play is taking place almost exclusively in the Italian zone. The Japanese pressure is suffocating. Both teams have one unused power play each. But the 3-2 goal is almost inevitable. It’s scored by Akane Shiga: it takes several replays to verify that the puck actually crossed the goal line. It did. At 17:38, with 2:42 remaining, the Japanese pull their goalie to put an extra skater on the ice. It’s now 6-on-5. The Italian defense holds firm, fighting tooth and nail. And the final buzzer seals a result that very few would have bet on. It’s worth remembering that this is the national team’s second Olympic appearance in history and that in their first, at Turin 2006—without taking anything away from the effort of the athletes back then—they scored one goal and conceded 32? The Italdonne project, which began a long time ago, has come to fruition.
