Euro 2025: Girelli's two goals lift Italy over Hegerberg's Norway into semifinals

GENEVA (AP) — On a night of goals and drama for two veteran star strikers, Cristiana Girelli got the better of Ada Hegerberg to send Italy into the semifinals of the Women's European Championship on Wednesday.

Girelli's 90th-minute header, her second goal of the game, sealed a 2-1 win over Norway, whose captain Hegerberg had tied the game after missing a penalty.

Italy will return to Geneva next Tuesday to face either Sweden or England for its first Women's Euros semifinal since 1997.

“It’s something magical. I felt something special since we came to Switzerland," the 35-year-old Girelli said

She had seized the lead for Italy in the 50th by deftly guiding in a shot fired across the Norway goal by Sofia Cantore.

With extra time looming, Girelli met Cantore's perfectly weighted cross with a graceful leap at the far post to direct her header just under the crossbar.

“The joy is huge. My heart is full of pride,” said Italy coach Andrea Soncin, who joined his players and staff in a euphoric post-game team photo in front of their fans who got close-up views of Girelli's goals.

Hegerberg leveled the score in the 66th with her first scoring chance just six minutes after missing a penalty kick for the second time at Euro 2025.

Hegerberg ran clear to a long pass and poked a shot past onrushing goalkeeper Laura Giuliani. The slow-rolling ball just beat the Italian defenders in a race to the goal line.

“She gets the goal after the (penalty) miss, that tells a lot about her,” Norway coach Gemma Grainger said. "It’s heartbreaking to concede so late, it taints the feeling of the game.”

Girelli now has 61 goals for Italy and the last three all went into the same net at the mountains end of the Stade de Genève stadium.

She also scored one of the goals of the tournament, curling in a 22-meter yard shot against Portugal that shaped to be decisive in the group stage until Italy conceded an 89th-minute equalizer.

"We felt at home here," Girelli said of the Swiss city with a big Italian community where the Azzurre will play a third game next week. “Maybe I could ask Juventus to play in this stadium, I'm joking.”

The Norway star has taken two penalty kicks at Euro 2025 and missed both, placing her two shots wide of each post. She also scored in each of those games and has 51 career goals for Norway.

Hegerberg won this spot-kick by falling under a grappling challenge from Italy captain Elena Linari trying to meet a high cross. Replays suggested Hegerberg might have been offside.

Taking a short and slow run to the ball, Hegerberg sent her shot wide of the left hand post of Guiliani, who guessed correctly which way to dive.

The former Ballon d'Or winner also missed when Norway led 2-1 over Switzerland, shooting to the right of Livia Peng’s dive, in an opening day win by that score.

Italy got its tactics right in the first half, with Arianna Caruso and Emma Severini breaking in space through the Norway midfield. Both tested Norway goalkeeper Cecilie Fiskerstrand with shots.

Maybe it was Italian confidence that left it vulnerable to fast breaks.

Hegerberg missed a chance alone in front of goal in the 36th. She sent the ball wide after it arrived at an awkward height because of Linari’s deflection trying to block the cross.

Norway was stronger after halftime, with four attackers on the field chasing an equalizing goal and then a decisive second.

“Our second-half performance was our best performance in the tournament,” Grainger said. ”They had one quality moment at the end."

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Norway's Ada Hegerberg reacts after missing a penalty shot against during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Norway and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Norway's Ada Hegerberg, second from right, scores during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Norway and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Italy's Cristiana Girelli celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Norway and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italy's Cristiana Girelli (10) scores their second goal during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Norway and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Italy's Cristiana Girelli (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Norway and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in nearly a year, driving up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.55% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.75%.

Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power at a time when affordability challenges continue to sideline many aspiring homeowners.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Rates have been mostly rising this year as the war with Iran has driven crude oil prices sharply higher, stoking expectations of hotter inflation. That's pushed up long-term bond yields relative to where they were before the conflict began in late February, causing mortgage rates to trend higher.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.57% at midday Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.54% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it's been since Aug. 28, when it was at 6.56%. As recently as late February, the average rate dropped slightly below 6% for the first time since late 2022.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.93% from 5.82% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.92%, Freddie Mac said.

A report this week showing prices paid by consumers for gas, clothes and other goods cooled last month could help take pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is considering raising interest rates.

The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, but its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can ultimately affect the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

That cooler inflation reading “is a step in the right direction, but until mortgage rates actually follow suit, buyers will keep feeling the pinch of stubbornly high borrowing costs even as other conditions improve,” said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, their upward trajectory has weighed on home sales this year.

And the latest monthly tally of home purchase transactions that have yet to be finalized points to potentially more sluggish home sales this summer.

Pending U.S. home sales fell 5.4% in June from the previous months and were down 0.3% from June last year, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a near-term bellwether for the housing market.

Data on mortgage applications also signal that the upward trend in mortgage rates has given some would-be homebuyers reason to pause.

Mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, fell 2.7% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The pullback was driven mainly by a 7% drop in applications to buy a home.

FILE - A sign is posted for a new home for sale in Ambler, Pa., Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)