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Italy books quarterfinal spot to keep impressive World Cup run alive

Tullio M. Puglia / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Italy's making up for lost time.

Back at the Women's World Cup for the first time in 20 years, the Azzurre booked a place in the quarterfinals Tuesday, topping China 2-0 to keep their unexpected run going.

Goals from Valentina Giacinti and Aurora Galli on either side of the interval secured the win in Montpellier, setting up a last-eight meeting with either the Netherlands or Japan.

Largely unheralded upon arriving in France for just its third World Cup appearance, Italy has used a solid backline and communal scoring approach to reach the quarterfinal stage for the first time since 1991.

Giacinti, who had a sweet strike called back for offside earlier in the first half, opened the scoring in the 15th minute, turning the ball home after a scramble inside the Chinese penalty area. Galli, who replaced the injured Cristiana Girelli prior to the break, cemented the victory with a low drive just four minutes into the second stanza.

Though China sporadically looked threatening, Italian 'keeper Laura Giuliani wasn't consistently under threat. She made five saves to nab the clean sheet and will look to replicate that result later this week.

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