How Switzerland Women beat Italy Women in the World Cup Qualifiers – tactical analysis

Friday, November 26, 2021, witnessed a Switzerland Women’s crucial 2-1 win against Italy Women ahead of the final five matches of the Women’s FIFA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers in Group G. Switzerland’s win allowed them to gain three valuable points over their direct opponent which is Italy, and therefore, they are now at the top of the group.

This first spot gives Switzerland automatic qualification to the upcoming World Cup given that they win in the five remaining games or exploit Italy’s possible losses to maintain their top spot.

For the Azzurre, the situation is becoming complicated following this loss as the team is now second in the group standings. Not only this second spot can only enable Italy to gain access to the play-offs, but it also puts the team at risk of being chased by Romania Women, the holder of the third-place who are now three points away from Italy. The best scenario for Italy is to win the remaining games and more importantly beat Switzerland in their upcoming encounter which will take place in Switzerland. The mission doesn’t sound easy for the Azzurre but that’s the only way for them to reach the World Cup without having to suffer in the play-offs and play additional games that could drain the players’ efforts.

In this tactical analysis article, the focus will be mainly on how were Switzerland able to score two goals and maintain their lead while playing away while also exploring the Azzurre’s mistakes that led to their loss and what they need to fix in terms of tactics in order to make up for their errors soon.

Line-ups

Switzerland started this match using the 4-4-2 formation with Gaëlle Thalmann as a goalkeeper, Noëlle Maritz, Luana Bühler, Julia Stierli and Eseosa Aigbogun in defence, Ana-Maria Crnogorčević and Coumba Sow as wingers, Riola Xhemaili and Arsenal’s Lia Wälti as central midfielders and Paris Saint-Germain’s Ramona Bachmann playing alongside Svenja Fölmli both as strikers.

The Azzurre were lined-up according to the 3-4-3 formation with Laura Giuliani as goalkeeper, a defence completely composed of Juventus’ centre-backs, Sara Gama, Cecilia Salvai and Martina Lenzini, a midfield that includes Roma players’ Elena Linari and Manuela Giuliano as central midfielders, Valentina Bergamaschi and Lisa Boattin as wingers with Barbara Bonansea and Milan’s Valentina Giacinti playing in attack to support Cristiana Girelli, the team’s forward, as you can see in this picture.

The reasons for Italy’s loss and Switzerland effective tactics

Italy’s problems started early in this match since they conceded Switzerland’s first goal at the ninth minute of the match following a clear marking mistake from both Gama and Bergamaschi who didn’t follow Sow as it was needed in order to prevent her from using her head just in front of goal. Instead, Sow was allowed to confuse the two Italian defenders by penetrating inside the box and reading the direction of Crnogorčević’s cross faster while reacting in a quick way that allowed her to win some time over her markers and score an important goal. Italy needed to defend better in such situations especially against powerful teams like Switzerland in order to not complicate the match. This defensive indecision and the late defensive reactions were among the main reasons for Italy’s loss in such an important match.