FIFA Women's WC: Italy's 16-year-old 'little Messi' makes heads turn in debut against Argentina

Italy started their FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 campaign with a 1-0 win against Argentina. The goal was courtesy Christina Girelli who came on the field as a substitute in the 83rd minute and immediately made an impact. The game, however, will be remembered most for the debut of Italy's 16-year-old Giulia Dragoni.

Nicknamed'Little Messi'by teammates,it was apt as the teen made her debut againstfootball superstar Lionel Messi's country.Dragoni also recently signed with Messi's long-time former club Barcelona from Inter Milan in a two-and-a-half-yeardeal.

During the match against Argentina, Dragoni showed her class and one of her moves became viral when she got the football ahead by taking it above the head of the opposition player. Have a look at the video here:

Dragoni played till the 83rd minute before being substituted by veteran Girelli who eventually took her team home with the lone goal of the match in the 87th minute. With the win, Italy started off their campaign with three crucial points in Group G.

Among other teams in their group, Sweden also won their opening match against South Africa with a 2-1 lead. Italy currently are in second place in their group as they have scored one goal less than Sweden. South Africa and Argentina are in third and fourth place, respectively.

Out of all 32 teams in the World Cup, 30 teams have played at least one match in the tournament. Colombia and South Korea will kick start their campaign Tuesday, July 25 in a Group H match. The top two teams from each of the eight groups will move forward to the round of 16 to start the knockout round of the tournament.

The knockout round starts August 5 with quarterfinals taking place on August 11 and 12. The top four teams will clash for a place in the finale on August 15 and 16 before the winner is decided on August 20.

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