A stadium filled with school children from Potenza and the province helped the National Under-18 team to victory in the first of two friendly matches played in Basilicata against Romania. The match ended 3-1 at the 'Viviani' stadium, with Daniele Franceschini's Azzurrini having already virtually secured the victory in the opening minutes thanks to goals from Aaron Ciammaglichella (Torino) and Kevin Bruno (Sassuolo), the latter also scoring the third Azzurri goal in the second half. Party on the pitch, party in the stands, with 4,900 spectators, including 3,400 students, thanks to the collaboration between Potenza Calcio and the FIGC Youth and School Sector, which contributed to making Italy vs. Romania a great occasion. The two teams will face each other again on Sunday at 10.30 CEST at the 'Donato Curcio' stadium in Picerno: this match will also be broadcast live on figc.it. 

"I would like to thank Potenza for the fantastic welcome we received," Franceschini said. "For these guys it was the first game played with such a big crowd, they were really excited and we are happy to have been able to repay the people with this performance. I liked the mentality in the way we approached the match against a strong opponent. The approach was fundamental: in football things seem easy, but in reality they are not, and as soon as we have lowered the intensity we have conceded goals. On Sunday the lads who didn't play today will also be used: the aim of these two friendlies is to give everyone the opportunity to show their talents and improvements."

Contro un avversario che presentava tre giocatori tesserati con squadre italiane (Capac del Torino, Siman del Milan e Dutu della Lazio), l'Italia ha dominato la partita sin dall'inizio: dopo un colpo di testa di Fini (Genoa), su cui il portiere della Romania Rafaila si è difeso bene, al 12' il risultato si è sbloccato grazie a Ciammaglichella, che su un preciso cross di Milani (Lazio) sempre di testa ha trovato la porta. Quattro minuti più tardi è arrivato il raddoppio di Bruno, che ha chiuso il sinistro sul primo palo dal limite dell'area. In controllo della partita per tutto il primo tempo, l'Italia ha però subito a pochi istanti dall'intervallo la rete del 2-1 di Banu. Nella ripresa, è stato ancora Bruno a far esultare il pubblico del 'Viviani': assist dall'interno dell'area di Di Maggio (Inter) e sinistro vincente del giocatore del Sassuolo. L'Italia ha legittimato la vittoria, ma nel finale ha rischiato di subire la rete del 3-2: è stato però bravissimo il portiere Magro (Lazio) a deviare con la punta delle dita la conclusione da fuori di Cibi. 

Against an opponent that had three players who play for Italian teams (Capac of Torino, Siman of AC Milan and Dutu of Lazio), Italy dominated the match from the start: after a header by Fini (Genoa), which the Romanian goalkeeper Rafaila stopped well, in the 12th minute the opener came thanks to Ciammaglichella, who, after a good cross by Milani (Lazio), again with a header, found the back of the net. Four minutes later came the secondthrough Bruno, who scored with a left-footed shot at the near post. In control of the match for the entire first half, Italy, however, conceded as Banu made it 2-1 just moments before half-time. In the second half, it was Bruno again who made the 'Viviani' crowd cheer: assist from inside the area by Di Maggio (Inter) and a superb left-footed finish by the Sassuolo man. Italy won the game, but in the final minutes they nearly conceded a second: however, goalkeeper Magro (Lazio) managed to get fingertips to Cibi's effort. Full time, 3-1.