Massimiliano Favo's Under-17 national team are young and beautiful, and who made a winning debut in the elite phase of the European Championships today by beating the Netherlands 2-0, thus taking a good step towards qualification. They are three precious points for the Azzurrini, who by overcoming Belgium on Saturday could secure first place in the group and go through to the final phase of the tournament, scheduled for 20 May in Cyprus (in addition to the eight group winners, the seven best runners-up will also qualify).

At the Myyrmäki Stadium in Vantaa, a town located about fifteen kilometers from Helsinki, it was a rematch of the 2018 and 2019 European Championship finals, both won by the Oranje. But this time, it was Italy who came out on top, taking the lead in the first half thanks to Alessandro Ciardi (Salzburg) tucking away a penalty won by Francesco Camarda and, after wasting one too many chances, sealing the result deep into injury time through Mattia Liberals (Milan).

“We had lots of chance," analysed Favo, "and if I have to find a flaw in this team then it is that we score too few goals compared to what we produce. Otherwise, from the intensity and quality of our play point of view, then I can't ask for anything more from the boys. We recovered the ball high, continuously playing our game and following the guidelines given by the youth national team coordinator, Maurizio Viscidi. This team has grown compared to the first qualifying phase, where we struggled against opponents who tightened up and stopped us in their own half. Now, we need to recover our energy in view of Saturday's game. We have only one objective: to go to Cyprus. The boys deserve it and Club Italia deserves it, too."

THE MATCH. For this opening game in the elite phase, Favo relied on his 4-3-1-2 formation, with Alessandro Ciardi called in to play behind the offensive duo formed by AC Milan's Camarda and Liberali. After a minute's silence, requested by the FIGC to honour the memory of Fiorentina general manager Joe Barone, Italy started off strong, pressing the Dutch high up the pitch. In the 3rd minute, Camarda broke forward on the counter-attack, shooting wide from a tight angle. Five minutes later, Van Den Berg replied with a low drive with his left that made Longoni work. The Azzurrini again became dangerous with efforts from Camarda and Liberali, and in the 28th minute took a deserved lead thanks to some careless play by Bouwman. The Dutch defender stumbled, with Camarda stealing the ball off him before taking out the Italian number nine. It was a clear penalty, which Ciardi transformed into the corner. Italy continued to attack and came close to doubling their lead, hitting the post twice at the end of the half through De Sant'Ana Balbinot and Liberali.

Despite the advantage, Favo's team continued to push hard in the second half, increasing the pressure further and stopping the Netherlands' play. Liberali cames close to his second, and then El Hani blocked Camarda's shot. Italy were winning all the midfield duels, showcasing strong athletic condition. The first sign of danger from the Dutch eventually came in the 71st minute through Koller, but his effort went wide. Camarda and Cama failed again to grab a second and it was only in the eighth minute of added time that Liberali put the game to bed, collecting a cross from substitute Lauricella from a move that was started off by Camarda. On Saturday (12:00 CET, live on the FIGC website), at the Myyrmäki Stadium in Vantaa again, the Azzurrini will face Belgium in their second group game.

NETHERLANDS 0-2 ITALY (H.T. 0-1)

Netherlands: El Hani, Oldenstam, Bouwman (64’ Reuter), Van De Lans, Jetten, Khaderi (46’ De Gusman), Gurbuz (64’ Verhulst), Van Den Berg, Bouhoudane (89’ Kluivert), Koller, Thomas (79’ Unuvar). Unused subs: Van Der Velde, Bresser, Manuhutu, El Harmouz. Head coach: Palland.

Italy: Longoni, Garofalo, Natali, Cama (96’ Lauricella), Sant’Ana Balbinot (73’ Cappelletti), Mantini (73’ Sala), Coletta, Di Nunzio (82’ Nardin), Ciardi (73’ Atzeni), Camarda, Liberali. Unused subs: Pessina, Verde, Campaniello. Head coach: Favo.

Scorers: 28’ pen. Ciardi (I), 98’ Liberali (I)

Referee: Ilic (SRB). Assistants: Djorovic (SRB) and Kemppinen (FIN). Fourth official: Manninen (FIN).

Notes: bookings: Liberali (I), Bouwman (PB), Ciardi (I), Mantini (I), Atzeni (I)

Fixtures, results and Group 3 standings

Matchday 1 (Wednesday 20 March)

Netherlands 0-2 ITALY
Finland vs. Belgium (17:30 CET, Myyrmäki Stadium in Vantaa)

Standings: ITALY 3 points, Netherlands, Finland and Belgium 0

Matchday 2 (Saturday 23 March)
Belgium vs. ITALY (12:00 CET, Myyrmäki Stadium in Vantaa)*
Netherlands vs. Finland (17:30 CET, Myyrmäki Stadium in Vantaa)

Matchday 3 (Tuesday 26 March)
Netherlands vs. Belgium (12:00 CET, Mustapekka Areena in Helsinki)
ITALY vs. Finland (12:00 CET, Myyrmäki Stadium in Vantaa)*

*live on the FIGC website