Portugal kept their slim hopes of qualification to the knockouts alive at the UEFA Women’s European Championship as Diana Gomes’ late strike salvaged a dramatic 1-1 draw against Italy, ending a run of seven consecutive H2H defeats for the Selecção das Quinas.
Having picked up a narrow 1-0 victory over Belgium in their group opener, Italy looked full of confidence in the early stages as Cristiana Girelli saw a long-range effort smartly tipped over by Patrícia Morais.
Le Azzurre continued to assert their authority on proceedings as the first half progressed, and they came within inches of a breakthrough when Lisa Boattin’s inviting delivery was headed against the bar by Cecilia Salvai.
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Winless in their last six matches (D1, L5), Portugal tried to gain a foothold in the contest before half time with plenty of possession in midfield – however, it was Andrea Soncin’s side who remained the more threatening in the final third.
Notably, Emma Severini saw a close-range finish ruled out for offside, while Morais stood firm in the Selecção das Quinas’ goal, denying a dangerous low strike from Girelli.
The early stages of the second period followed a similar pattern to the first, with Italy’s Arianna Caruso firing a powerful effort narrowly over the bar.
Undeterred by that missed opportunity, Le Azzurre’s pressure finally paid dividends in the 70th minute, as Girelli created a yard of space for herself on the edge of the box and curled a spectacular strike into the top corner for her first goal of the tournament.
Francisco Neto’s side went in pursuit of an immediate response, and they thought they’d found one when Diana Silva converted a rebound in the box, only for VAR to disallow the goal for a marginal offside.
But Portugal continued to probe in the closing stages, and an equaliser duly arrived in the 89th minute, when Dolores Silva’s cut-back was instinctively guided into the net by Gomes.
That goal proved to be the final decisive moment in the contest as Portugal kept their slim hopes of a quarter-final berth alive heading into matchday three.
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