Soccer-We won't fear group leaders Spain, says Italy defender Oliviero
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Italy go into their clash against Spain at the Euros on Friday with no fear of the Group B leaders, defender Elisabetta Olivierosaid, despite her side needing at least a draw to ensure they progress alongside the Spaniards.
The Italians looked set to join Spain in the last eight, but they conceded a late equaliser in their last game which gave Portugal a 1-1 draw and leaves Italy with some work to do.
They will be sure of reaching the quarter-finals if they avoid defeat by Spain or if Portugal do not beat Belgium.
"It's not a joke -- I'm telling you, we don't have any (fear) because it's not a matter of fear," Oliviero told reporters.
"Tomorrow we play our game with a lot of respect, but I repeat, we will play for (against) Spain like any other nation we will meet, or any other situation.
"Spain has weak points, yes, like everyone, and we will definitely study them. Football is a special sport, that's the beauty of it. We will see many things on the pitch."
Spain's embarrassment of attacking riches has seen them net a staggering 11 goals in two games so far, thrashing Portugal 5-0 in their opener and following that with a 6-2 drubbing of Belgium to book their place in the quarter-finals.
Spain's Alexia Putellas and Esther Gonzalez have both scored three times so far in the tournament and the goalkeeper tasked with stopping them in training is not surprised at their form.
"When they score those goals in matches I'm not surprised, because they do exactly the same in training," Spain's Adriana Nanclares told reporters on Wednesday.
"In the end it's a luxury to have them, it speaks a lot about the individual ambition of each of them."
The two sides meet at Bern's Wankdorf Stadium on Friday.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
5 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Ready in six months? Italy says 2026's Winter Olympics on track despite delays, political rows and snow fears
ROME, Aug 5 — Six months before the start of the Winter Olympics, Italian organisers say that, after years of ups and downs, they are on schedule. 'Preparations are progressing steadily and according to the timeline we have set,' Andrea Varnier, the chief executive officer of Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee, told AFP. The Olympic opening ceremony is on February 6, though curling kicks off the action two days earlier. The Paralympics open a month later on March 6, though curling again breaks the ice two days beforehand. 'We are currently in the core phase of operational implementation,' said Varnier. Simico, the public company responsible for delivering the Olympic facilities, last week promised that 'all the planned sports construction projects will be completed before the start of the Olympics'. Organisers have made a point of delivering a low-cost Winter games after recent extravangances. Sochi, in Russia in 2014, cost at least US$40 billion (RM170 billion at current exchange rates). Pyeongchang, in South Korea in 2018, came in at over US$12 billion. The Covid-hit Games in Beijing in 2022 officially cost US$4 billion, but financial analysts said that including infrastructure costs put the total at around US$38 billion. Milan-Cortina estimate their final bill will be 5.2 billion euros. Of that 3.5 billion euros is going on infrastructure and 1.7 billion euros on staging the Games. The Games are using a host of existing venues — emphasising the point by holding the closing ceremony in the almost 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre in Verona. Organisers say that avoiding new construction reduces not only costs but environmental impact. The Olympic Rings displayed at the Sapporo Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium in Sapporo, Hokkaido prefecture January 21, 2023. — AFP pic 'Compex global event' This approach also means the Games will stretch across northern Italy from Cortina in the Dolomites in the east 350 kilometres to the western suburbs of Milan, with other 'clusters' spread through the Alps. 'As with any complex global event, challenges are part of the process,' said Varnier. 'We are moving forward with confidence.' One of the few new venues will be briefly the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena before assuming its intended role as the multi-purpose Eventim Arena after the Games. While organisers have managed to avoid being lumbered with a little-used speed-skating track by temporarily converting two exhibition halls at the Milan fair grounds, another group of sports with few participants created a political and construction headache. Because Italy did not have a track for the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events, organisers considered using existing sites in Austria or Switzerland. Matteo Salvini, the second-in-command and Minister of Transport in Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government, insisted in late 2023 that the events be held in Italy. That meant a breakneck race to build a track in Cortina. It was completed just in time for pre-approval in March. Accommodation, which often poses a logistical and financial problem for Olympic organisers, seems to be locked up. The Milan Village, six seven-storey buildings to be converted into university dorms after the Games, will be delivered in 'early October' despite the recent legal troubles of its developer, the Coima group. In Cortina, 377 prefabricated modules will be installed by the end of October. The Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 will take place from February 6 to 22 and the Winter Paralympic Games from March 6 to 22, 2026. — AFP pic 'We'll be ready' While it is not clear if Italy's ski star Federica Brignone, who won the overall World Cup and a world title last season but smashed her left leg, will be fit to compete, the organisers revealed in July the design of the medals she would be chasing. They will weigh 420 grams in bronze and 500 grams in gold and in silver. The designer promised the medals will endure better than a few of those from last year's Paris Games. Some 220 medals, which contained a small piece of scrap metal from the Eiffel Tower, had to be replaced because they quickly turned black or rusted. 'We cannot allow what happened in Paris to happen again,' said their designer Raffaella Panie. That leaves just one unknown. The Italian meteorological service, contacted by AFP, said it was unable to predict whether there would be enough snow next February. The organisers said they were not worried. 'We'll be ready,' they said. — AFP
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Rugby-Lions hooker Sheehan handed four-match ban over Lynagh foul
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Italy v Ireland - Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy - March 15, 2025 Ireland's Dan Sheehan scores a try to complete his hat-trick REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo (Reuters) -British & Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan has been handed a four-match suspension, which can be reduced to three by completing a coaching intervention, for a foul on Australia fly half Tom Lynagh in the third test in Sydney, World Rugby said on Monday. Sheehan is set to be ruled out of his club Leinster's pre-season game with Cardiff and their United Rugby Championship matches against Stormers and Sharks in September and October. He will also miss the game against Munster on October 18 if he fails to successfully complete the coaching intervention. Lynagh had failed a head injury assessment and was unable to continue after an apparent hit from Sheehan's elbow, as the Lions suffered their only loss of the nine-match tour of Australia on Saturday. Sheehan, who had initially denied any foul play, has accepted the suspension given to him by an independent foul play review committee, World Rugby said in a statement. "In determining foul play, the committee found that Sheehan's actions were reckless. The committee found that he made head contact with the Australian player, that his action amounted to a high degree of danger and that no mitigation applied," World Rugby added. (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Walsh completes world butterfly double in riposte to Phelps
Gold medallist Gretchen Walsh flanked by silver medallist Alexandria Perkins and bronze medallist Roos Vanotterdijk on the podium. (AP pic) SINGAPORE : A fit and firing Gretchen Walsh completed a butterfly double at swimming's world championships in Singapore on Saturday, romping to victory in the 50m event. The American, who won the 100m butterfly earlier in the week, touched the wall in 24.83 seconds, beating Australia's Alexandria Perkins (25.31) and Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk (25.43). Walsh said she felt 'fragile' before her 100m win after going down with a stomach bug that has swept through the American camp. She was back to full strength for the fast and furious 50m, which will become an Olympic event for the first time at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. 'I'm very proud,' said the 22-year-old Walsh. 'That was a great swim, it was great to feel like myself again in the water after kind of a rocky meet, but two-time world champion, can't complain with that.' Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem, the world record holder and a six-time world champion in the event, is not competing in Singapore. Walsh took advantage of her absence and showed that she will be a force to reckon with in LA in three years' time. Walsh's performance also offered a riposte to swimming legends Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, who have been critical of the American team's displays in Singapore. Six-time Olympic gold medallist Lochte on Friday shared an image on Instagram depicting a funeral that featured a tombstone inscribed: 'In loving memory of United States Swimming.' 'They set the bar high – until they stopped reaching for it,' the inscription says, Lochte adding the caption: 'Call it a funeral or call it a fresh start. We've got 3 years.' Phelps, who counts a stunning 23 gold among his 28 Olympic medals, shared Lochte's post, adding, 'Is this the wake-up call USA swimming needed?'
