Italy is one win away from women’s Euro final, 3 years after players were permitted to turn pro

Italy is one win away from reaching the final of the Women’s European Championship, but just three years ago its players couldn’t even get professional contracts in their own country.

Little wonder veteran captain Cristiana Girelli was in tears after her two goals inspired Italy to a 2-1 victory over Norway last week, and a first semifinal appearance at the tournament in 28 years.

The Azzurre next plays defending champion England on Tuesday in Geneva.

“It's a great joy to be among the top four in Europe and it is a happiness that we want to share because we know how important it is to bring home the results in Italy and especially for the new generations,” Girelli said, after again wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Because obviously we do this for our glory but there is a much deeper meaning, which we certainly want to bring, which is that in Italy women can play soccer too.”

Of course they can, although they couldn’t hope to make a lot of money for it until 2022 after years of amateur-only status.

It was in April of that year that the executive board of the sport's national federation approved new regulations to open the way for a women’s professional era starting July 1 — in time for the following Serie A season.

A 1981 Italian law had limited female players to amateur status, meaning they couldn’t earn more than 30,000 euros ($32,000) per year before taxes.

Benefits such as social security contributions, an end-of-career fund, pension, medical protection for injuries and maternity leave were a distant dream.

The 35-year-old Girelli and many of her national teammates have experienced the change firsthand, with several of them having had to do hospitality jobs to support their soccer careers.

“There were difficult years where we really suffered a lot," Girelli said.

The push to make the women’s game professional in Italy followed the national team's surprise run to the quarterfinals of the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

It was also helped by the big clubs — Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma and Lazio — starting to invest more in their women’s teams.

Progress has been slower than in the countries of its traditional soccer rivals — such as England, France and Spain — but Italy is showing signs that it is catching up on the international stage.

Under coach Andrea Soncin, Italy is proving it can go toe-to-toe with the top teams, culminating in its first semifinal match at the European tournament since a run to the 1997 final.

“It’s something magical,” Girelli said. “But to tell you the truth I have felt something special in the air since I arrived in Switzerland, since the coach took charge of this team I felt something special.

“And you know, women are never wrong with their feelings,” she continued with a wry smile.

While it hasn’t quite reached fever pitch back home, 2.4 million television viewers in Italy — a 16.2% audience share — watched the team’s match against Norway and that's likely to be even more for the semifinals.

“We hope this love, this affection, this atmosphere that’s coming to us from Italy doesn’t disappear,” Girelli said. “I really hope that with all my heart because we struggled to get here.

“We’ve reached something amazing, something extraordinary, and however it goes, I really hope it continues to feed this passion, this love for us.”

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Soccer players and staff from Italy celebrate their victory after 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)

Italy head coach Andrea Soncin applauds the fans at the end of 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 head coach Andrea Soncin, center right, celebrates with the players at the end of 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, center right, celebrates after scoring her side's 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. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)