The National Under-18 team wins as well. After yesterday's beautiful victory of Bernardo Corradi's boys against Austria (3-0), the Under-18 team, coached by Daniele Franceschini, won against Albania (1-0). This extends the victory streak of the National Youth Teams, considering that at the beginning of June, the Under-18 team, then led by Carmine Nunziata, had beaten Austria 3-1. Today’s match at the Coverciano Technical Center started quietly, though the deadlock was broken 5 minutes from the end of the first half thanks to a nice header by Cagia.

The match began without any particular excitement with Italy coming close to the opponent's area several times but their shots were mostly wide. In the 39th minute, Michele Masala's cross from the right side of the box was headed in by Genoese defender Gabriele Cagia, marking the end of the first half. In the second half, Franceschini started to rotate the players, immediately making 6 changes. Italy managed the game well, with good ball possession, and often got close to the opponent's area. Between the 57th and 61st minutes, Missori, Masala and Pisilli attacked the top defender and Albanian captain Simoni. The Azzurrini Coach then completed rotating his players – Albania did the same. The match flowed without any other surprises and ended with an Italy win.

Coach Daniele Franceschini was satisfied: "A week of work that has borne fruit. The boys have integrated well, many of them were at the first sessions and I am very pleased with their overall attitude, even considering that this is just the beginning. We are working to create a solid foundation to build next year's Under-19 team". All of the players on the field today were born in 2004, an unlucky year group that, due to the pandemic, were unable to finish their league, let alone participate in the cancelled European Championships. The Coach added: "In fact, I would like to praise them again for their commitment and desire to give their best. A very positive response".

Italy 1-0 Albania

Goalscorer: 39' Cagia

ITALY (4-3-3) : Mastrantonio (46' Bolletta, 73' Bertini); Missori (C), Biagetti (46' Ruggeri), Cagia (60' Anut), Bozzolan (46' Falasca); Pagano (46' Alesi [C]), Palella (46' Amatucci), Gala (46' Pisilli); Accornero (60' Rossi G.); Masala (60' Cherubini), Crespi (46' Polli, 73' Rossi L.). Coach: Franceschini

ALBANIA U18 (4-3-1-2) : Simoni (C) (73' Biba); Sota (46' Kaceli, 73' Prendi), Çipi [C], Azizi, Thaleb (60' Stafa); Kote (85' Lika), Tahiri (73' Topi), Lika (73' Cungu); Celaj (60' Cupani); Halilaj (73' Nako), Nikqi. Coach: Behari

Referee: Julio Milan Silvera (Sez. Valdarno); First Assistant, Yossin Francesco Pacheco (Sez. Firenze); Second Assistant, Thomas Jordan (Sez. Firenze); Fourth Official, Matteo Magnani.