At the Tullo Morhagni stadium in Forlì, Greece beat Italy 2-1 in the last game of the Qualifying Round, finishing in the top spot of Group 11. The Azzurrini will progress to the next round, having risked missing out in the final match and keeping an eye on the Northern Ireland vs. San Marino game at Satarcangelo that would contribute to their fate. They could breathe a sigh of relief when the news came that Northern Ireland had won 4-0, securing the second spot for Italy on goal difference. Waterworth’s lads conceded only one more than the Azzurrini.

Massimiliano Favo, Azzurrini Head Coach, spoke to RAI at the end of the match: “In each of the three games this tournament, we have met with closed sides who sit and defend. It is obvious that we cannot be satisfied with the results; I am satisfied with the mentality, for the command of the came, but we need to learn to be sharper. We are through to the next round and we are happy; we deserve it for the play we created, but we need to be more cynical”.

The qualification allows Italy to move to the second phase of the Under 17 European Championships, which will be played at the start of 2024: the 32 teams participating in the Elite Round will be divided into eight groups consisting of four teams. Following these games, the fifteen national teams to join the hosts Cyprus in the final round will be decided.

The match. Italy had the chance to break forward open the scoring straight away: in the 2nd minute, Maoirana was fouled by the Greek defender Bataoulas in the area. Liberali stepped up to the spot, but Beleris made a good save to keep it out. 10 minutes later, however, the same thing happened again but at the other end of the pitch: Maffessoli’s foul on Kostoulas resulted in a Greece penalty. Darviras stepped up and converted from the spot to give the Greeks the lead.

These were essentially the 13 minutes that defined the game. Italy missed a big chance to open the scoring and found themselves involved in an eventful match. The Azzurrini played on but struggled to create many chances whilst Greece sat back in their own half, ready to break on the counterattack with their fast offensive players. In the 26th minute, Di Nunzio's volley from the edge of the area drew applause from the crowd in Forlì but did not change the scoreline. Maiorana's curling shot in the 35th minute met the same fate, it grazed the post and only seemed to go in.

The clock ticked away, while in the other game, Northern Ireland’s two-goal lead over San Marino began to seem worrying. As the minutes passed, the Azzurrini's intensity became harder and harder to avoid and Greece was forced to work overtime in defence. The consequence is another penalty to Italy, which this time, Maiorana doesn't miss. At 42' it's 1-1.

Right when Italy seemed in control of the game, a Greek counter-attack led to another one-on-one situation in the Azzurre area that ended with the referee pointing to the spot for the fourth time in 45 minutes. Kostoulas managed to double the lead just before the break.

Two games are important to the second half: in Forlì, Italy had to draw at least to be sure of a second-place finish or completely reverse the result and win to finish top of the group. However, all eyes were also on Santarcangelo, because in the event of a defeat, San Marino's defence must not collapse against Northern Ireland to keep the goal difference intact.

In the 73rd minute, the substitute Camarda had the chance to equalise but his shot ended up over the bar. In the final minutes, Favo’s lads continued to attack, though without ever catching Beleris out. Greece therefore took home the victory in Forlì and head to the next round. A few minutes after the final whistle, the news arrived of the 4-0 Northern Irish victory over San Marino: the goal difference secured the second spot and qualification to Elite Round for the Azzurrini.

Italy 1-2 Greece
ITALY: Pessina; Colombo, Verde, Maffessoli (87’ Castiello), Cama; Coletta, Gariani (57’ Plicco), Di Nunzio; Liberali; Mosconi, Maiorana (65’ Camarda). Unused subs: Nunziante, Cocchi, Olivieri, Garofalo, Vezzosi. Head Coach: Favo
GREECE: Beleris; Sulanjaku, Mokris, Bataoulas, Fragkos; Dunga, Theocharis (46’ Zouridakis), Eleftheriadis, Darviras (46’ Papanikopoulos); Kostoulas (91’ Karargyris), Mythou (57’ Tsitsilas). Unused subs: Kakadiaris, Vyrsokinos, Sarris, Ntani. Head Coach: Chatzopoulos
REFEREE: Masiyev (AZE). Assistenti: Mammadov (AZE) e Vassyutin (KAZ). IV Ufficiale: Sariyev (KAZ)
GOALS: 13’ Darviras (pen), 42’  Maiorana (pen), 45’ Kostoulas (pen).
NOTE – 3’ Beleris saved a penalty from Liberali. Booked: Maiorana, Mythou, Maffessoli, Camarda, Mosconi. Injury-time: 2’, 5’

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessandro Nunziante (Benevento), Massimo Pessina (Bologna)
Defenders: Cristian Cama (Roma), Federico Colombo (Milan), Matteo Cocchi (Inter), Christian Garofalo (Napoli), Manuel Maffessoli (Atalanta), Francesco Verde (Juventus), Giorgio Vezzosi (Sassuolo)
Midfielders: Alessandro Di Nunzio (Roma), Federico Coletta (Roma), Niccolò Gariani (Atalanta), Mattia Liberali (Milan), Alessandro Olivieri (Empoli), Elia Plicco (Parma)
Forwards: Francesco Camarda (Milan), Alex Castiello (Atalanta), Stefano Maiorana (Fiorentina), Mattia Mosconi (Inter)

Staff – Head Coach: Massimiliano Favo; National Youth Team Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Delegation Head: Filippo Corti; Club Italia: Giuseppe Martucci; Assistant Coach: Matteo Barella; Fitness Coach: Adalberto Zamuner; Goalkeeping Coach: Davide Quironi; Match analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Doctors: Alessio Rossato and Francesco Maria Nifosi; Physiotherapists: Marco Fiore and Enrico Matera; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; School Tutor: Stefano Presciutti; Secretary: Massimo Petracchini.

Qualifying Round, Group 11: results, fixtures and table

Wednesday 25 October
Northern Ireland 0-2 Greece
Italy 4-0 San Marino

Saturday 28 October
Greece 2-0 San Marino
Italy 0-0 Northern Ireland

Tuesday 31 October
Greece 1-2 Italy
San Marino 0-4 Northern Ireland 

Table: Greece 9 points, Italy and Northern Ireland 4, and San Marino 0