Azzurrini European champions! A brace from Camarda and Coletta crush Portugal in the final: Gravina: "Historic achievement"

Italy, propelled by two goals from the AC Milan forward and one from the Roma midfielder, clinch its first European title in this category. Favo: "This success is thanks to everyone".

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Azzurrini European champions! A brace from Camarda and Coletta crush Portugal in the final: Gravina:

Invincible. There's no other word to describe the Italy Under 17's coached by Massimiliano Favo, who, in front of the 7,120 spectators gathered at the Limassol Stadium, defeated Portugal 3-0 in the final. A seventh victory in as many games, clinching their first European title in this category. The Azzurrini took the lead in on 7' with Federico Coletta before doubling their advantage on 16' thanks to Francesco Camarda. Camarda scored his second and Italy's third on 50', earning himself the tournament's best player award.

President Gabriele Gravina commented: "The Under 17 team led by Favo has created history. The boys and the entire staff were fantastic. For the first time, Italy wrote its name in the record books of this European category competition, confirming the importance of trusting our young talents. Credit goes to Club Italia, technical coordinator Maurizio Viscidi, and all the clubs investing in the youth sectors. I often hear talk about foreign models, but after this extraordinary success, the silver at the Under 20 World Cup, and the continental success of the Under 19 team last year, the reference model in Europe is Italian!”. Following the President's splendid words of praise, coach Massimiliano Favo confessed: "I was confident we could win. We had a great tournament showcasing beautiful football. Winning 3-0 against Portugal, who are top-ranked, was a tremendous achievement. I'm satisfied with the boys' journey, they've shown they are a great group. I thank the Federation and Club Italia, who have enabled us to work in the best possible way. This success is everyone's merit".

Federico Coletta, autore dell'1-0 azzurro

MATCH. Italy kicked-off with the eleven that won in the semi-final against Denmark, started strong and after a couple of early chances narrowly missed on the right. Firstly with a low left-footed shot from Mosconi from the edge of the box and one from Camarda near the left corner of the six-yard area. The opening came on 7'. Cama, from the left flank, crossed centrally with his left foot for Coletta, who, arriving at the far post, beat Diogo Ferreira with a precise header, ending up in the bottom left corner. Favo's boys continued to push, and around the quarter-hour mark, came very close to doubling their lead. Camarda dribbled with the ball at his feet and, with his right foot, fired at the Portuguese goalkeeper from close range. A couple of minutes later, on 16', the Azzurrini doubled their lead thanks to their number 9, who, after cutting in from the left short side, unleashed a low right-footed shot that beat Diogo Ferreira centrally. Portugal reacted timidly, first with a low left-footed shot from Geovany Quenda and then with a close-range right-footed effort from Gabriel Silva, but in both instances, Pessina proved unbeatable. Around the half-hour mark, Favo's boys return to threaten, coming close to making it 3-0 with Cama, but the right-footed curler from the Italian's number 3 narrowly misses to the right. In the final minutes of the first half, after an attempt from 25 meters with his right foot by Sala, was dealt with by the Portuguese number 1. There were a couple of opposing chances, but neither Rodrigo Mora's curling right-footed shot nor Geovany Quenda's header managed to break through the solid Italian defence.

Francesco Camarda, doppietta e premio di miglior calciatore dell'Europeo

In the second half, after an early right-footed shot from Mosconi was saved by the Portuguese goalkeeper, Italy deservedly found the third goal. Mosconi set up Camarda, who, from two steps away, gave Diogo Ferreira no chance, and secured his brace on 50'. The Azzurrini continue to attack, and shortly after, they again trouble the opposing goalkeeper with a long-range right-footed shot from the tireless Coletta. Favo's boys are in complete control of the game, and apart from a late attempt by Tiago Ferreira, promptly dealt with by Pessina, they do not face any particular dangers before the final whistle, which not only signals the start of celebrations but also marks a historic success for the entire Italian youth football movement.

LA LISTA GARA

La Nazionale Under 17 sul terreno di gioco del Limassol Stadium

ITALY 3-0 PORTUGAL 3-0 (2-0 first-half)

Italy: Pessina; Emanuel, Cama (79' Lauricella), Verde, Coletta, Di Nunzio (70' Garofalo), Camarda (90' Campaniello), Liberali (70' Mantini), Mosconi ©, Sala (79' Lontani), Natali. Unused subs: Nunziante (P), Ballo, Nardin, Orlandi. Coach: Massimiliano Favo.

Portugal: Diogo Ferreira; Rui Silva, Martim Cunha, Eduardo Felicíssimo (71' David Daiber), Geovany Quenda (71' João Trovisco), Gabriel Silva (63' Afonso Patrão), João Simões © (63' Tiago Ferreira), Edgar Mota, Eduardo Fernandes (63' Cardoso Varela), Rodrigo Mora. Unused subs: Miguel Gouveia (P), Duarte Soares, Afonso Sousa, Afonso Meireles. Coach: João Santos.

Goals: 7' Coletta, 16' Camarda, 50' Camarda.

Referee: Radoslav Gidzhenov (BUL). Assistants: Petar Mitrev (BUL) e Kyriakos Sokratous (CYP). Fourth Official: Menelaos Antoniou (CYP).

Bookings: Rui Silva (P), Sala (I), Camarda (I), Mantini (I), Edgar Mota (P), Mosconi (I).

Squad

Gaolkeepers: Alessandro Nunziante (Benevento)*, Massimo Pessina (Bologna);
Defenders: Lamine Ballo (Inter), Cristian Cama (Roma), Emanuel Benjamín de Sant'ana Balbinot (Real Madrid), Christian Garofalo (Napoli), Giovanni Lauricella (Empoli), Federico Nardin (Roma), Andrea Natali (Barcellona), Francesco Verde (Juventus);
Midfielders: Federico Coletta (Roma), Alessandro Di Nunzio (Roma), Matteo Lontani (Juventus), Matteo Mantini (Inter), Emanuele Sala (AC Milan);
Forwards: Francesco Camarda (AC Milan), Thomas Campaniello (Empoli), Mattia Liberali (AC Milan), Mattia Mosconi (Inter), Andrea Orlandi (Empoli).

*replaced Alessandro Longoni (AC Milan) dal 2 giugno.

Staff - Coach: Massimiliano Favo; Head of Delegation: Filippo Corti; Coordinator of Youth National Teams: Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant Coach: Matteo Barella; Goalkeeping Coach: Davide Quironi; Fitness Coach: Adalberto Zamuner; Match Analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Medical Staff: Francesco Maria Nifosì and Alessio Rossato; Physiotherapists: Marco Fiore and Giorgio Giannini; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; School Tutor: Stefano Presciutti; Press Officer: Alessandro Paoli; Secretary: Massimo Petracchini; Administrative Office: Antonio Martuscelli.

UEFA European Under-17 Championship

Group Phase

Group A: Cyprus, Ukraine, Serbia and Czechia.
Group B: Denmark, Austria, Croatia and Wales.
Group C: ITALY, Sweden, Slovakia and Poland.
Group D: France, Portugal, Spain and England.

Group C schedule

Matchday 1 (Tuesday 21 May)
Slovakia 0-0 Sweden
ITALY 2-0 Poland

Matchday 2 (Friday 24 May)
ITALY 2-0 Slovakia
Sweden 2-2 Poland

Matchday 3 (Monday 27 May)
Sweden 1-2 ITALY
Poland 4-0 Slovakia

Table: ITALY 9 points, Poland 4, Sweden 2, Slovakia 1.

Knockout stages

Quarter-finals

Wednesday 29 May

Q1) Czechia 1-1 Denmark 1-1 (3-5 on penalties)
Q2) Austria 2-3 Serbia

Thursday 30 May

Q3) ITALY 1-1 England (5-4 on penalties)
Q4) Portugal 2-1 Poland

Semi-finals (Sunday 2 June)

S1) Denmark 0-1 ITALY
S2) Serbia 2-3 Portugal

Final (Wednesday 5 June)

ITALY 3-0 Portugal

Previous Winners
2002 - Switzerland
2003 - Portugal
2004 - France
2005 - Türkiye
2006 - Russia
2007 - Spain
2008 - Spain
2009 - Germany
2010 - England
2011 - Netherlands
2012 - Netherlands
2013 - Russia
2014 - England
2015 - France
2016 - Portugal
2017 - Spain
2018 - Netherlands
2019 - Netherlands
2020 - Not contested
2021 - Not contested
2022 - France
2023 - Germany
2024 - ITALY