Italy made it two wins from two today and, thanks to France's 2-1 victory over Romania in Dunajska Streda, have now qualified for the European Championship semi-finals and the Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia. After getting the better of the Romanians in their opening group match, the Azzurrini ran out 1-0 winners over Slovakia in Trnava thanks to Giuseppe Ambrosino’s finish. Almost all of the action happened in the first half: after initially struggling to deal with the Slovakians’ pressing, Italy went on to hit the bar twice through Ambrosino and Miretti. But the former then found the net, a goal which proved to be the winner. 

The match. Carmine Nunziata made just one change to the team that beat Romania, with Miretti coming in for Baldanzi. It was a difficult start for the Azzurrini, who came under pressure from a Slovakia side that had a large home crowd behind them. Jambor, the hosts’ captain, was the first to really threaten: first, his dangerous ball across the box was missed by everyone (20’); then, he called Desplanches into action with a 23rd-minute free kick. Italy then started to grow into the game, with Miretti pulling the strings in the final third. In the 26th minute, he struck the bar after combining well with Ambrosino, who, in turn, hit the woodwork himself four minutes later with a fine effort. But Italy’s misfortune came to an end with 33 minutes on the clock: Fabbian intercepted a loose ball in midfield and picked out Miretti, who then passed it to Ambrosino. The Napoli attacker let fly with a precise right-footed strike that beat Balaz. The teams headed into the break with Italy one goal to the good.

Not much happened after the restart as the Azzurrini controlled their advantage, although Desplanches needed to be alert to keep out Jambor’s header in the 80th minute. Nunziata sent on Volpato, Terracciano and Fontanarosa for Ambrosino, Fabbian and Miretti in an attempt to see the game out, and this is exactly what Italy did. It finished 1-0.

At 17:30 CEST on Friday, Nunziata’s side will face France in a match that will decide top spot in Group A. Juventus full-back Gabriele Mulazzi will miss the game due to suspension.

Slovakia 0-1 Italy

Goalscorers: 33’ Ambrosino

SLOVAKIA (4-3-3): Baláž; Mičuda, Luka, Ujlaky, Šikula (72' Kopásek); Oravec (74' Halabrín), Hollý, Szolgai (46' Griger); Šnajder (46' Kóša), Jambor (C), Sauer M. (64' Gajdoš). Substitutes: Hrdina (GK), Kóša, Gaži, Mišovič, Sliacky. Head Coach: Rusnák.

ITALY (4-3-1-2): Desplanches; Mulazzi, Ghilardi, Coppola, Giovane (C); Casadei, Faticanti, Fabbian (79' Terracciano); Miretti; Nasti, Ambrosino Di Bruttopilo (59' Volpato). Substitutes: Zacchi (GK), Stivanello, Turicchia, Fontanarosa, Baldanzi, Fazzini, Degli Innocenti. Head Coach: Nunziata.

Referee: Goga Kikacheishvili (GEO); Linesmen: Davit Gabisonia (GEO) and Edgaras Bučinskas (LTU); Fourth Official: Manfredas Lukjančukas (LTU).

Booked: Mulazzi, Casadei, Ghilardi, Nasti, Holly

Results and standings

Saturday 18 June

Slovakia 0-5 France

Italy 2-1 Romania

Tuesday 21 June

Slovakia 0-1 Italy

Romania 1-2 France 

Standings: France and Italy 6 points, Romania and Slovakia 0

Friday 24 June

Group A: Romania vs. Slovakia (17:30, Trnava)

Group A: France vs. Italy (17:30, Dunajská Streda)

FIFA U-20 World Cup play-off:

Tuesday 28 June
Third place Group A vs. Third place Group B (17:00, Senec)

Semi-finals:

Tuesday 28 June
SF1: Winner Group A vs. Runner-up Group B (17:00 or 20:00, Trnava or Dunajská Streda)
SF2: Winner Group B vs. Runner-up Group A (17:00 or 20:00, Trnava or Dunajská Streda)

Final:

Friday 1 July
Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2 (20:00, Trnava)

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Milan), Gioele Zacchi (Sassuolo);

Defenders: Diego Coppola (Hellas  Verona), Alessandro Fontanarosa (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Hellas Verona, Gabriele Mulazzi (Juventus), Riccardo Stivanello (Bologna), Filippo Terracciano (Hellas Verona), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus);

Midfielders: Cesare Casadei (Inter), Duccio Degli Innocenti (Empoli), Giovanni Fabbian (Inter), Giacomo Faticanti (Roma), Jacopo Fazzini (Empoli), Samuel Giovane (Atalanta), Fabio Miretti (Juventus);

Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino Di Bruttopilo (Napoli), Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Marco Nasti (Milan), Cristian Volpato (Roma).