Sweden Edges Italy 1-0 in World Cup Qualifier

Sweden snaps winless streak with 1-0 win over Italy

Sweden beats Italy in 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier, ending winless streak since EURO 2022. Sweden's revamped defence holds strong in 1-0 win over Italy, giving team momentum in World Cup qualifying campaign...

Sweden's Filippa Angeldahl scores only goal in 1-0 win over Italy, giving team crucial World Cup qualifying victory...

Sweden kicked off their 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying campaign with a narrow 1-0 win over Italy in Reggio Calabria, snapping a winless streak since last summer's EURO.

The Swedes, fielding a relatively inexperienced centre-back duo of Bella Andersson and Elma Junttila-Nelhage (just three caps), were under pressure to turn their form around in Group A1.

The new-look defence saw out the first quarter of the match without conceding an Italian shot on goal, and it was at the midpoint of the opening half that Sweden not only had their first effort on target, but broke the deadlock with it.

Felicia Schroder found Filippa Angeldahl, and she took aim from outside the area with a shot that struck the inside of the post and nestled in the bottom corner for her 24th international goal.

Italy struggled to create chances, with Sweden's Jennifer Falk enjoying a relatively quiet first half - she didn't need to make a save before HT. Michela Cambiaghi and Arianna Caruso's efforts weren't enough to trouble the Liverpool stopper.

Falk finally had to work around the hour mark, denying Sofia Cantore. Italy had a huge let-off five minutes later when Cambiaghi hit the woodwork.

Substitute Martina Piemonte was next to work Falk as the match entered its final quarter, as Sweden boss Tony Gustavsson turned to the experienced Fridolina Rolfo to try and control the latter stages.

𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗗

Härlig start på VM-kvalet! 🙌

🇮🇹 0-1 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/tNA4V1J8hE

— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) March 3, 2026

The coach's instructions worked, as Sweden held out late on for a crucial 1-0 victory, sealed with their only effort on goal in the entire 90 minutes.

Denmark's win over Serbia puts Sweden in second place in Group A1, for now. Sweden's next up is a tough trip to Stara Pazova to face Serbia on March 7th.

Only the top team in each “A” group qualifies directly for the World Cup; 2nd to 4th place teams head to the Play-offs.