Best Reaction to Girelli, Italy's Win vs. Argentina in 2023 Women's World Cup

For more than 80 minutes, Italy could not capitalize on its scoring chances.

Seeing her team's desperation rising, Italian coach Milena Bertolini substituted in Cristiana Girelli during the 83rd minute.

Four minutes later Girelli found the back of the net and gave Italy a 1-0 victory over Argentina in their 2023 Women's World Cup opener. Lisa Boattin assisted on the goal, sending through an excellent cross that was Girelli was able to head past Argentine keeper Vanina Correa.

"When you have a player like Cristiana Girelli on the bench and you see that you can't actually score... My choice was very simple," Bertolini told reporters.

"She's a weapon for us. We had a lot of the ball but just couldn't get it into the net. And so having a player like her on the bench, it's natural that you ask her to take to the pitch."

A decade into her international career, Girelli now has 54 goals over the course of her time playing for Italy. This is the third straight World Cup where she's found the back of the net, having scored 15 of her goals in World Cup matches or qualifiers.

The match saw the two sides trade off possession throughout, with Argentina seemingly satisfied to play for a 0-0 tie. The underdog Argentines had only one shot on goal despite holding possession for 47 percent of the match, while Italy spent most of the first 87 minutes coming up short on goal-scoring chances.

Italy's ability to sub in an elite veteran like Girelli ultimately made the difference, earning a critical three points in Group G play. The Italians will look to add three more points Saturday when they take on Sweden.