Splendid success of National Under 17 team which, winning 2-0 against Slovakia, has arithmetically conquered 1st place in the standings in group C, by virtue of the 2-2 draw between Sweden and Poland in the other group match, qualifying for the quarter-finals of the European Championship with one round to spare (where they will face the second classified in group D composed of France, England, Portugal and Spain). The Azzurrini, after taking the lead with an anthology goal from Francesco Camarda in the 30th minute, found the second goal with Mattia Liberali in the 38th minute, effectively closing the qualification discussion in the first 45 minutes.
“It was a difficult match – underlines the coach Massimiliano Favo -, more than it might seem. This is a fantastic group, with great character and achievement skills, which never ceases to give me great satisfaction. Today we were very solid under the defensive aspect, conceding very little to our opponents, and we produced an important amount of play, especially in the second half: the boys deserved this first place and qualification for the quarter-finals.”
MATCH. Italy started on the right foot and, after a right-footed shot from 20m by Mantini which ended just wide to the right, they came close to making it 1-0 in the 22nd minute: Garofalo came out of the defense in fine style before serving long left-footed Mosconi, who takes the ball to his feet and, from the back, serves a precise low shot to the center for Camarda who, with first intention, kicks sensationally high over the crossbar with his left foot. On the half hour mark, after a weak low shot with the left foot of Kováčik blocked on the ground by Longoni, the Italian number 9 decides to make amends for the previous mistake in front of goal by inventing a counter-jumping slash to cross, with his left foot, which slips into the bottom right corner, leaving Zajac no escape.
Favo’s boys gain further confidence and, eight minutes later, they find the doubling goal: following the development of a low cross from Cama, Mosconi finishes for Liberali who, from near the left top of the opponent’s small area, pierces the fullback Slovakian defender with a nice left-footed diagonal. Just before the end of the first half, there is space for a low right-footed shot from the usual Cama, which ends just wide to the left. The second half of the game, decidedly less lively than the first, recorded only a header at the start by Pira, which ended well above the crossbar centrally, and a couple of Italian finishes at the end: a left-footed shot at half-height by Cama before and a poisonous diagonal right from Orlandi, both just wide to the left.
Italy, which reached the quarter-finals with the two teams from group A, Czech Republic and Serbia, will return to the field on Monday 27 May (5pm Italian time) at the Paralimni Municipal Stadium ‘Tasos Markou’ to face their peers Sweden on the last day of group C.
ITALY-SLOVAKIA 2-0 (2-0 pt)
Italy: Longoni; Emanuel (90′ Ballo), Cama, Mantini (46′ Sala), Garofalo, Coletta (87′ Lontani), Di Nunzio, Camarda ©Liberali (46′ Orlandi), Mosconi © (79′ Campaniello), Nardin. Available: Pessina (P), Verde, Lauricella. Coach: Massimiliano Favo.
Slovakia: Zajac; Turanský, Balog, Daniel, Stručka ©, Bukovský (46′ Lusale), Vlna © (84′ Németh), Trello (58′ Udvaros), Okál, Kováčik (66′ Bačik), Pira (66′ Valko). Available: Kalanin (P), Hlavatý, Osman, Mišiak. All.: Branislav Fodrek.
Networks: 30′ Camarda, 38′ Liberals.
Referee: Jan Petrik (CZE). Assistants: Marek Podany (CZE) and Martijn Tiesters (BEL). Fourth official: Jasper Vergoote (BEL).
Note: Balog (S), Daniel (S), Coletta (I), Orlandi (I) booked.
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Group stage
Group A: Cyprus, Ukraine, Serbia and the Czech Republic.
Group B: Denmark, Austria, Croatia and Wales.
Group C: ITALY, Sweden, Slovakia and Poland.
Group D: France, Portugal, Spain and England.
The calendar of group C
1st day (Tuesday 21 May)
Slovakia-Sweden 0-0
ITALY-Poland 2-0
2nd day (Friday 24 May)
ITALY-Slovakia 2-0
Sweden-Poland 2-2
Classification: ITALY* 6 points, Sweden 2, Slovakia and Poland 1.
*arithmetically first and qualified for the quarter-finals.
3rd day (Monday 27 May)
6pm local time (5pm Italian time): Sweden-ITALY, Paralimni Municipal Stadium ‘Tasos Markou’ in Paralimni
6pm local time (5pm Italian time): Poland-Slovakia, Dasaki Achnas Stadium in Dasaki
Knockout stage
Quarter finals (Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 May)
Semi-finals (Sunday 2 June)
Final (Wednesday 5 June)
