Italy—what a disappointment! The Azzurre are out of the World Cup
Italy’s World Cup dream comes to an end just when things were looking best, following an extraordinary comeback that ultimately wasn’t enough. In Berlin, in the playoff match to advance to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup, the Azzurre lost 82-80 to Australia—ranked No. 3 by FIBA—after trailing by as many as 26 points and putting together a historic fourth quarter: 31‑13—the run that reignited the national team’s hopes before the bitter ending.
Capobianco’s team trailed throughout the game, struggling against the physicality and precision of the Opals, but showed great character in the closing minutes and came close to pulling off an upset. Costanza Verona shone as the team’s leading scorer with 23 points, a new career‑high for the national team after the 16 she scored against Slovakia in 2022. Vittoria Blasigh also reached double digits with 13 points, while Cecilia Zandalasini, making her 100th appearance for the Italian national team, was limited to 9 points.
Andrea Capobianco commented on the events in Berlin to the FIP’s official channels: “First of all, I want to thank all the girls who have been with us on this journey and who, for physical or fitness reasons, were unable to come to Berlin: I’m referring to Ilaria Panzera, Laura Spreafico, and Martina Kacerik. As for the game, I’d say that when we let technique take precedence over talent, we lack impact, we don’t run the court, and we struggle terribly—as we did in the first half.”
“When we manage to ‘switch gears’ and our spirit drives our talent, we become the team that comes back from a 26-point deficit against one of the strongest national teams in the world. In just over a year, we’ve faced Belgium, the United States, and Australia, losing by a total of 7 points. This means we need to work on the details if we want to compete at the highest level of world basketball, but that dreaming of contending for the top isn’t impossible.”
The World Cup campaign thus concludes with a victory over the Czech Republic and three losses—all, however, against three of the top four teams in the world rankings: the United States, China, and Australia. Thirty-two years after its last World Cup appearance, Italy is back among the top twelve teams in the world—a result that attests to the team’s competitiveness. On Thursday morning, the national team will return to Italy: their next game is on November 11 at PalaTerni, where Italy will face Slovenia in a EuroBasket 2027 qualifier.
