Women’s U19 National Team: the Titane defeat Cyprus in first friendly

The very first outing – albeit unofficial – for the Women’s Under-19 National Team also brings the first victory. Giacomo Piva’s Titane create numerous chances in the friendly with Cyprus, which will be repeated tomorrow at 10:00: two of them are duly converted by Terenzi and Penserini, sealing a 2-0 win that sparks plenty of smiles one month out from their – this time official – debut in the qualifying group in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As mentioned, the two test matches hosted at the Dogana Stadium do not have UEFA status and therefore include some special rules, such as unlimited substitutions and a penalty shoot-out at the end of the match regardless of the score. What is not missing, however, is the national anthems ceremony, always a highly emotional moment. Then comes the match itself, with Cyprus immediately threatening the Titane down the Georgiou–Matsoukari axis: the former sends the latter through on goal against Forcellini, who is outstanding in diverting the close-range effort. The incident does not unsettle the hosts. From there, at least in the first half, the script is easy to read: Cyprus monopolise possession, San Marino create the chances. The first of these falls to Terenzi, who burns Kyriaki Vlachou for pace and goes one-on-one with Hadjichristodoulou, who does brilliantly to deny her; the ball then breaks kindly for Castello, who loses the moment for a first-time finish and allows the Cypriot keeper to intervene again. Cyprus resume the initiative but cannot find a way through. Elisa Terenzi does, though, as on 21 minutes she latches onto a pass from Stifani, once again leaves Kyriaki Vlachou for dead and beats the advancing Hadjichristodoulou with a clever toe-poke into the corner. Cyprus immediately carve out a good chance to equalise: Matsoukari gets away on the right and swings in a cross to the far post for Eleftheriou, who meets it on time but heads wide. After a routine save by Forcellini on a long-range effort from Mylona, the Titane come within centimetres of doubling their lead, again through Terenzi, who meets a set-piece delivery from Paone and, unmarked in the heart of the box, smacks her effort against the post. Cyprus are no longer able to threaten before the interval. San Marino, on the other hand, have further chances, including two from consecutive corners: the first, taken by Yazici, almost turns into a goal direct from the flag but for Mylona dropping back to cover her goalkeeper and clearing off the line; the second, again swung in by the No. 8, is turned by Castello into an overhead kick, stylish but too high. There is still time, before the half-time whistle, for one more huge opportunity to make it 2-0. The theme is the same: Terenzi beats the defence for pace and races through on goal. This time the through ball is from Yazici, with the Biancazzurro captain leaving Chrysantou in her wake but unable to dribble past Hadjichristodoulou, brave and decisive in coming off her line.

The second half begins with Ragazzini replacing Bonciucci. A poor ball lost in the first phase of build-up play offers Mylona the chance to shoot twice: Forcellini is there on both occasions, making amends for her initial error. The Cypriot centre forward has another good opportunity on the hour mark from a Michail assist: she fires well over, pressured by Paolini. The Titane’s response comes from a short-corner routine: Terenzi crosses, Michail clears but only as far as Ragazzini, who hits it first time on the volley and misses the target by a whisker. Then comes a phase in which Michail’s pace causes serious problems down the hosts’ left. On 64 minutes, the No. 18’s burst forces Forcellini into a long, aggressive run off her line; the Cypriot rounds her but – fortunately for the home side – cannot pick out a team-mate for a tap-in into an empty net. A minute later, Michail once again motors forward with the ball at her feet before threading a pass through to Matsoukari, who tries to place her shot inside the near post, where Forcellini flies across to preserve San Marino’s lead. On 68 minutes the move is repeated: Michail again tears down the flank and delivers a pinpoint assist for Mastoukari, who once more comes out second best in her duel with Forcellini. Giacomo Piva freshens up his side with the introductions of Balsimelli, Andreini and Francini. Terenzi stays on and still has the legs, in the 71st minute, to spin on the halfway line, drive diagonally across the pitch and then slide an almost perfect pass through to Penserini, denied by a superb last-ditch challenge from Victoria Vlachou. Matsoukari makes one last attempt to win her personal battle with Forcellini, but her placed effort from the edge of the box finishes well off target. The final stages belong entirely to the Titane. Terenzi exchanges passes with Francini and then tries to replicate the exact move that led to the opening goal, only this time Hadjichristodoulou stands her ground. There is still time, though, for one final burst down the left from the San Marino captain. Another one-two with Francini and Terenzi darts away before cutting the ball back low for Penserini, ice-cool in front of Hadjichristodoulou: game, set and match. In the closing minutes Giacomo Piva has the chance to make more substitutions, sending on Moroni and Zammarchi in place of the applauded Yazici and Penserini. At the final whistle from referee Covi, however, all the Titane savour the deserved applause from the Dogana stand, ready to get behind the Women’s Under-19s again tomorrow morning at 10:00, with live streaming on Titani.tv.

After the match, as mentioned, the two sides also practised penalty kicks, irrelevant to the result but extremely valuable looking ahead. San Marino came out on top there as well. Arianna Forcellini particularly caught the eye, saving three Cypriot penalties in a row and converting her own – the last – after four successful attempts from her team-mates. A scene already witnessed at the Under-16 Development Tournament in April 2024.

Women’s Under-19 National Teams, Test Match | San Marino – Cyprus 2-0

SAN MARINO (4-1-4-1)

Forcellini; Bonciucci (46’ Ragazzini), Paolini, Carli, Stifani (74’ Andreini); Paone; Penserini (88’ Zammarchi), Tamagnini (60’ Balsimelli), Yazici (88’ Moroni), Castello (74’ Francini); Terenzi

Substitutes: Mastronardi, Della Valle, Lonfernini

Head coach: Giacomo Piva

CYPRUS (4-4-2)

Hadjichristodoulou; Michail (87’ Valianti), Chrysanthou, K. Vlachou, V. Vlachou (87’ Christodoulou); Matsoukari (87’ Polyvlou), Holmes Gracie (65’ Xenophontos), Georgiou (74’ Tsiola), Eleftheriou (74’ Makridi); Constantinou, Mylona

Substitutes: Konstantinidi, Louca, Fotiou

Head coach: Savvas Sofokleous

Referee: Giuseppe Covi

Assistant referees: Giuseppe Macaddino, Andrea Zaghini

Scorers: 21’ Terenzi, 87’ Penserini