Women’s Euro 2025: Italy Hope to Follow Spain into the Knockouts

Italy vs Spain

With two victories in the bag, Spain are already through to the knockout phase of the Women’s Euro 2025, and they can win a highly competitive Group B if they avoid defeat to Italy at the Stade de Suisse on Friday. 

Spain manager Montserrat Tome has the strongest squad in the tournament, but she may be tempted to rest one or two players for this match, while Italy coach Andrea Soncin will definitely field her strongest 11.

Le Azzurre have four points from their opening two games and will join Spain in the knockouts should they avoid a very heavy defeat on Friday, or should Portugal fail to get a big win against Belgium.

Italy were within a few minutes of qualification on Monday when they led Portugal 1-0, but a late equaliser dragged them back into the mix and gave Portugal renewed hope. And that 89th-minute setback makes this next challenge such a big deal for Le Azzurre.

 

Talking Points

Putellas makes Spain tick

The experienced pair of midfielder Alexia Putellas and striker Esther Gonzalez have scored three goals each for Spain already as La Roja slapped Portugal 5-0 and then hammered Belgium 6-2. The legendary Putellas suffered an ACL injury in 2022, but she is now fully recovered and can line up alongside Barcelona teammates Aitana Bonmati and Patri Guijarro in a midfield dripping in quality. The 31-year-old Ballon d’Or Feminin winner is Spain’s most capped player of all time with 134 internationals, scoring 37 goals while plundering 147 goals in 317 games for Barca.

A left-sided attacking midfielder, Putellas is such a skilled goal scorer that she can also operate as a No. 10, with vision and passing ability that can carve open any defence. And she is surrounded by players keen to emulate her brilliance. Barcelona youngsters Claudia Pina and Vicky Lopez have a goal and an assist each, and they are already part of a creative group unrivalled in the women’s game.    

After the first round of matches, France look to be the biggest threat to Spain’s dominance. But after already beating England, Les Bleues need to gather some serious momentum to live with Putellas and La Roja.   

 

Soncin has Italy well-organised

This Italy side is certainly hard to beat, and in the toughest group at the Euros, they have already beaten Belgium 1-0 before drawing 1-1 with Portugal. Italy are 13^th in the FIFA World Rankings, 11 places behind La Roja, and they are certainly a team on the up since Soncin took over in the aftermath of a disappointing World Cup in 2023.

She sets her team up to frustrate and then to strike like a cobra when the opportunity presents itself. Juventus striker Cristiana Girelli scored her 58^th goal in her 118^th appearance to give the Azzurre a 1-0 lead over Portugal, and it was a thing of beauty as the 35-year-old controlled the ball, shifted it onto her right foot, and swerved an unstoppable shot into the top right corner. 

At the other end of the pitch, Girelli’s clubmate Lisa Boattin is a commanding presence at left-back, and she has captained Italy at youth level. Her positional sense and tough tackling make her a difficult defender to beat, and she will relish the chance to come up against La Roja’s superb attacking unit.

The Women’s Euro 2025 betting odds say La Roja will be very hard to beat. But if Boattin and Girelli are on their games, the underdogs have half a chance.             

 

History

Spain are the current World Champions and the UEFA Nations League champions, but they are yet to win the Euros, with their best effort being a semi-final appearance way back in 1997.

For Italy to progress to the knockout phase would represent progress from their 2022 campaign, when they succumbed to Belgium and France. But they have reached the European final twice in 1993 and 1997, as well as being World Cup semi-finalists in 1991 and 2019.    

With three wins to one, La Roja have bossed the head-to-heads with Spain, but both teams are in good shape coming into this clash. Italy are unbeaten in five, while Spain have won their last seven outings.    

 

Betting Tip

Spain are at SBOTOP odds of 1.20 to win this game, with the draw at 5.03, and an Italy win is out there at 7.53. Le Azzurre will present Spain’s toughest challenge so far, but I think La Roja simply have too many Women’s Euro 2025 highlights in their bag.  

And for a correct scoreline, a 2-0 Spain win is priced at 6.08, and that might well be enough to see Italy through.

   

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