A victory was essential to maintain the lead in Group A of the European Championship qualifiers and to make amends for the draw in the reverse fixture. And Italy prevailed: in Cesena, in front of nearly 4,000 spectators (including 1,200 young players from local youth clubs), the Azzurrini resumed their strong performance on the path to the final stage, defeating Latvia 2-0, a team that had held Nunziata’s squad to a 0-0 draw in Jurmala last September. A goal in each half by two players, who, during their youth days at Inter, also shared an apartment: Cesare Casadei took the lead - becoming the tenth different scorer in six matches -, followed by Giovanni Fabbian doubling the lead. Italy will next play on Tuesday (18:15 CET in Ferrara, live on Rai 2) against Türkiye. The Republic of Ireland, the Azzurrini's closest pursuer, who won today, not far from the stadio Manuzzi, in San Marino (7-0), will not be playing.

"It was the match we were expecting," Nunziata said. "It was tough to find spaces against a tightly-packed team, but we were adept at finding width and crossing a lot. We could have finished differently at times, but the outcome is right: we dominated, and it was important to do so to win the match. With the choices made, I did not want to give our opponents any points of reference: the boys were truly excellent."

THE MATCH Without Baldanzi, who returned to Rome due to a muscle issue, Nunziata relied on Miretti and Casadei behind Gnonto, who was captain for the game. Given Pirola's less than perfect condition, Calafiori played centrally, as he does in his club, Bologna. After 20 seconds, and following a minute's silence to remember Joe Barone, Latvia had their first opportunity: a cross in from the left by Melkis was volleyed by Puzirevskis at Desplanches, who showed great reflexes. In the 8th minute, another chance came to the Latvians, with Vapne's header just just off target; shortly after, Ndour's shot from the edge of the area went wide. A powerful cross by Miretti after twelve minutes saw Reingolcs deflecting the ball, preventing Gnonto from directing it into the net.

Another cross, this time from a corner, by Miretti on 25 minutes saw Prati's header at the near post drift wide. However, the goal finally arrived in the 32the minute: Miretti waited for Zanotti's overlap, with the cross from the San Gallo player finding Casadei in the middle; the Chelsea midfielder's acrobatic finish marked his first goal for the Under 21s. Italy could have had a second goal shortly after, with Beks denying Gnonto's curling shot. The Latvian goalkeeper nearly caused a second goal for Italy just before half-time: giving the ball away to Fabbian, he. however, shot high.

The second half started with a brilliant individual effort from Miretti, who, after bypassing the entire Latvian defence, saw his shot deflected by Beks onto the post. Another weaving run by Gnonto (64') ended with his left-footed shot blocked by Reingolcs; the Leeds forward tried again soon after, but the ball missed the target. The goal, however, was found by Fabbian eleven minutes from time with a left-footed turn and shot inside the area. This was the Bologna midfielder's second goal in these European qualifiers, adding to his five in the league. Nunziata smiles, Italy lead the pack.

ITALY 2-0 LATVIA (HT 1-0)

Italy: Desplanches; Zanotti (85' Kayode), Ghilardi, Calafiori, Rugfferi; Fabbian, Prati, Ndour; Miretti (67' Esposito), Casadei (85' Fazzini); Gnonto (85' Oristanio). Unused subs: Zacchi, Pirola, Bianco, Ambrosino, Coppola. Coach: Nunziata

Latvia: Beks; Novikovs, Reingolcs, Sliede, Maslovs; Rascevskis (from 84' Anmanis), Vientiess, Melniks, Melkis (from 46' Rekis); Vapne (from 84' Zaleiko); Puzirevskis (from 58' Lizunovs, from 65' Melnis). Unused subs: Parfjonovs, Valmiers, Krancmanis, Glaudans. Coach: Basovs

Scorers: 32' Casadei, 79' Fabbian

Referee: Farrugia (Malta). Assistants: Camilleri, Scerri (Malta). Fourth official: Tonna (Malta)

Bookings: Reingolcs (L), Maslovs (L)

UEFA EURO UNDER 21 2025 - GROUP A

Friday, 22 March

San Marino 0-7 Rep. of Ireland

ITALY 2-0 Latvia

Tuesday, 26 March

17:00 CET: Norway v San Marino

18:15 CET: ITALY v Türkiye (live on Rai 2)

Standings (matches played in parentheses): ITALY (6) 14 points, Rep. of Ireland (6) 13, Norway (5) 9, Latvia (8) 5, Türkiye (5) 6, San Marino (6) 0

ITALY'S UPCOMING FIXTURES

Thursday, 5 September: Italy v San Marino

Tuesday, 10 September: Norway v Italy

Tuesday, 15 October: Italy v Ireland