3️⃣ Juventus players to watch out for at the Women's World Cup | OneFootball

The Women’s World Cup is almost upon us from Australia and New Zealand.

The tournament will feature several Juventus stars in action and we look at three notable names to watch out for.

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Cristiana Girelli (Italy)

Even at 33, the Juventus forward remains an important presence in the final third for the Azzurre.

With over 100 caps and 53 goals to date for her country (including a hat-trick at the last World Cup), it isn’t difficult to see why and she is coming off the back of an impressive campaign at club level.

She ended it as Juve’s top scorer with 25 goals in all competitions and eight assists.

So naturally she’ll have Italy’s hopes of goals and glory resting on her shoulders, right? Perhaps not.

Despite her comfort in playing either as a lone striker or alongside a partner in a 4-4-2, her coach may have something entirely unexpected in mind.

In the build-up to to the tournament, Italy boss Milena Bertolini, who has already courted controversy with her shock exclusion of Juventus captain Sara Gama for “technical and tactical reasons”, has hinted that Girelli may actually be used in an unfamiliar a central midfield role Down Under and has been deployed there in training.

She has the talent to excel anywhere but a position change so close to the start of the competition would represent a big gamble.

Julia Grosso (Canada)

A Grosso with Juventus links starring at a World Cup? That will sound familiar to Italian football fans.

In her second season at the club, the 22-year-old went from strength to strength, firmly establishing herself as one of the game’s most exciting midfield talents.

She arrived at Continassa in 2021 after helping Canada end their long wait for success by scoring the winning penalty in the Olympic Games gold medal game against Sweden.

That she had the nerve to take that high pressure kick at the age of just 20 says a lot about her mentality.

Combining that with her reading of the game and composure on the ball, she became the lynchpin of the Juventus engine room last season, forming an exciting partnership with Italy’s Arianna Caruso – another player to watch out for.

Grosso’s seven assists last season were second most in Serie A, while her 92% pass completion rate was the most of any player in the division.

So it was no great shock to see her crowned Serie A Midfielder of the Season at the end of the campaign.

Tied down with the Bianconeri for next season, recent rumours have linked the Canadian with a move to Manchester City. Watching her this summer will be proof of why that is the case.

Barbara Bonansea (Italy)

Bonansea is another of an exciting crop of Juventus attackers who are all capable of playing a big part in Australia and New Zealand.

She is a fan favourite and reliable goalscoring threat but hasn’t always been assured of a regular starting berth under Betolini, with her versatility sometimes counting against her.

The quick and direct 32-year-old should get her fair share of chances this summer though and has a habit of grabbing a landmark goal.

She netted the Old Lady’s first ever goals in both Serie A and the Champions League, while also netting the only goal in last season’s Coppa Italia final against Roma to keep the trophy in Turin.

Bonansea also scored both goals in Italy’s 2-1 win over Australia in the last edition of this competition, while she is fresh off a campaign in which she scored 11 times for Juventus.

She has been a key figure in Juve’s recent domination of Italian football, establishing herself as one of the peninsula’s top talents and one who is deserving of the global stage.

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