Ice Hockey, Azzurre knockout and third but in the quarterfinals

The heart and pride of the Azzurri were not enough to snatch points from Germany, but Italy emerged with heads held high from an intense and hard-fought challenge to the last.

After 60 minutes of great struggle, the national team yields only in the penultimate round of hands, at the end of a game decided by Laura Kluge’s double signature. It was she who built the 1-1 action that cancelled out Justine Reyes’ early lead and scored the decisive goal that extinguished the enthusiasm of the 4,000 spectators at the Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

A bitter epilogue that, however, does not erase the extraordinary path of Mattivi and her teammates, once again able to prove their full value. Thanks to the victories against France and Japan, combined with the defeats suffered only against Sweden and Germany, Italy closes Group B in third place, achieving a historic goal: the passage to the quarterfinals for the first time in its history.

These are the words of Laura Fortino after the match: “I am extremely proud of the results of the whole group. We had very tough challenges ahead of us, and also predictions that we were underdogs but we showed that we are a family first. They were four challenges full of emotions, different from each other, and if I have to think of a key moment I have no doubt: the match with France. What pride to wear the Azzurri jersey in that context, and above all, how nice to put Italian field hockey on the map. Winning that game launched us by showing everyone that we could surprise. Now let’s think about the quarterfinal, I don’t care if I’m facing Canada. I will trust the way the technical staff will prepare it thinking only of giving my best for Italy”.