Official: Bartoli, Giugliano, Giacinti Among Eight Roma Players on Italy's World Cup Squad

With the 2023 Women's World Cup set to kick off later this month in New Zealand, Italy manager Milena Bertolini has been busy putting her provisional roster through its paces over the past several weeks. And thanks to recent investments from Italy's major clubs, not to mention the full professionalization of the sport itself, women's football has come a long way over the past decade, giving Bertolini an incredibly deep well of talent to choose from as she looks to improve on the Azzurre's run to the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup.

Thanks to that depth, Bertolini faced several difficult decisions as she whittled down her initial 32-woman provisional roster ahead of Italy's opener against Argentina on July 24th in Auckland. While Bertolini will likely face some criticism for dropping certain players, namely Milan striker Martina Piemonte, Roma fans have no grounds for complaint as eight members of the reigning league champions made the cut.

Moments ago, the FIGC officially unveiled Bertolini's 25-woman roster, one that includes eight Roma players: defenders Elisa Bartoli, Lucia Di Guglielmo, and Elena Linari; midfielders Manuela Giugliano and Giada Greggi; and forwards Valentina Giacinti, Benedetta Glionna, and Annamaria Serturini.

Roma's eight representatives trail only Juventus, who are sending nine players to New Zealand later this month.

Italy, who were slotted into Group G, will face Argentina on July 24th, Sweden on July 29th, and South Africa on August 2nd.

We'll cover Italy every step of the way, so be on the lookout for our preview later this month.