WOMEN'S WORLD CUP 2023
Italy set new Women’s World Cup fouls record in Sweden thrashing
The Italians can still qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament despite being heavily beaten by Fridolina Rolfö and company.
A late victory over Argentina in their opening match of the Women’s World Cup 2023 meant they Italy knew they would always have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages for the second tournament in succession heading into their final Group G game against South Africa.
While it would be incredibly mischievous and unfair to suggest they decided to write off their second fixture against Sweden, theoretically the strongest team in the group, it is fair to say that things didn’t go according to plan for Le Azzurre in Wellington.
Barcelona star Rolfö scores in 5-0 Sweden rout
The contest was all but over by half time, with Sweden scoring three goals from the 39th minute onwards, including one from Barcelona star Fridolina Rolfö, touted as one of the stars of the tournament. The Swedes added further gloss to the scoreline in second period, scoring a fourth right at the beginning of the half and a fifth deep into injury time, marking the first time Italy had conceded four goals or more in a Women’s World Cup game.
Although it was another statistic, highlighted after the match by analytics company Opta, which perhaps best illustrated the Italians’ passiveness in the game.
How many fouls did Italy concede against Sweden?
Italy only conceded one foul in the entirety of the 90 minutes (plus added time) and came within just a matter of minutes of playing the whole game without doing so, with midfielder Valentina Cernoia giving away a free kick in the very last minute. You might not be surprised to hear that no team has recorded fewer since such information started being tracked in the 2011 tournament.
For context, Sweden conceded a rather more “normal” 13, while Italy themselves gave away a whopping 20 in their opening game of the tournament against Argentina, the highest in the first round of matches. In club soccer, Manchester City were the Premier League team which averaged the lowest number of fouls per game in 2022/23 with 9.1, while Real Madrid (9.7) were the least offending club in LaLiga.
Were Italy unable to get near Sweden or did they show incredible discipline to avoid giving away unnecessary free kicks? The scoreline, unfortunately, would suggest the former.