Italy Defeats Japan, Advances to First Olympic Women’s Knockouts

Casey Halston

Published: February 9, 2026 6:12 PM ET

Italy Defeats Japan, Advances to First Olympic Women’s Knockouts

Italy has made history by securing a quarterfinal spot in the Olympic women’s hockey tournament for the first time. The host nation triumphed over Japan with a score of 3-2 on Monday. This victory marks a significant achievement for Italy, especially considering their struggles in past Olympic appearances.

Italy’s Olympic Journey

This marks Italy’s second appearance in Olympic women’s hockey. In their first outing during the 2006 Turin Games, they finished last with a record of 0-4. Now, Italy has improved significantly, achieving a 2-1 record in the tournament.

Match Highlights

Matilde Fantin opened the scoring for Italy with two goals in the first period.
Japan responded with a goal from Rui Ukita in the second period.
Italy’s Kristin Della Rovere added another goal in the third period.
Akane Shiga scored for Japan, confirmed after a video review.

Gabriella Durante, the Canadian-born goalie for Italy, recorded an impressive 27 saves during the match. “This is everybody’s dream coming true,” Durante expressed. “Hopefully this just grows hockey in Italia that much more for little girls all over the country.”

Group Performance

With Italy’s victory, they joined Germany and Sweden in the quarterfinals. Germany also qualified after a 2-1 overtime win against France. This leaves Japan and France eliminated from the tournament.

Germany’s Overtime Victory

Katarina Jobst-Smith scored the decisive goal for Germany just 1:17 into overtime.
Laura Kluge contributed with another goal.
Goalkeeper Sandra Abstreiter made 13 saves.

France’s debut was disappointing, finishing with a record of 0-4 and being outscored 13-4 throughout the tournament.

Upcoming Matches

Later on Monday, the United States, favored to win the tournament, will aim for their third victory against Switzerland in Group A. Defending Olympic champion Canada will be facing Czechia.

As the tournament progresses, Italy’s breakthrough win has sparked excitement and hope for the future of hockey in the nation.