A magnificent performance by the Under 17 National Team, which, in front of 840 spectators at the Antōnīs Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca, defeated their Danish counterparts 1-0 in the European Championship semifinal. On Republic Day, they secured the fourth final in their history in this competition, after those lost in 2013, 2018, and 2019. The Azzurrini progressed thanks to a goal on 30' by a goal scored by Federico Coletta, his second goal in the tournament after his debut strike against Poland. Italy, which has never won the tournament, will return to the field on Wednesday 5 June (19:30 CEST) at the Limassol Stadium to face Portugal, who in the other semifinal, came from behind to beat Serbia 3-2 at the AEK Arena.

President Gabriele Gravina emphatically commented, "What emotions from this Italy, congratulations to Mister Favo and all the boys! The Azzurrini have shown to be a team of character with a lot of technical quality, fundamental characteristics to continue dreaming big." Following the President's words, coach Massimiliano Favo added: "We played a great match, dominating the game, and perhaps we could have scored a few more goals. I am very happy because the boys did an excellent job and deserved to play this final against Portugal. I hope there will be a good crowd, just like tonight".

MATCH REPORT: The Azzurrini made two changes to the starting lineup that defeated England three earlier at the AEK Arena: Pessina replaced the unavailable Longoni, who was replaced by Nunziante in the official list in the morning, and Verde replaced Garofalo at the centre of the defence alongside Natali. Favo's boys started strong and early on gave Breum-Harild a scare first with a splendid solo run down the right flank by Emanuel, whose left-footed shot hit the side netting, and then with a header from Camarda, on a cross from the right by Coletta, that grazed the top of the crossbar. Italy continued to push and on 10' came close to taking the lead. Coletta set up Mosconi, who controlled near the right corner of the opponent's small area and shot left-footed, forcing the Danish goalkeeper into a near-post save. Another ten minutes passed before the duel between the Italian captain and Breum-Harild continued. Liberali set up for Mosconi, whose dangerous curling left-footer was miraculously deflected for a corner by the Danish number 1, diving cat-like to his right. An Italian goal was in the air and, right on the half-hour mark, it arrived: Camarda set up Cama down the left wing, who sent in a low cross from the byline for Coletta, who slid in at the far post to score with a right-footed tap-in. Denmark felt the blow and, three minutes later, it took a great effort from Breum-Harild, first stopping Coletta's right-footed shot and then a double left-footed attempt by Camarda, to prevent Favo's boys from doubling their lead. Near the end of the first half, the Italian number 9 showed up again with a nice solo effort in the area, shooting just high and wide to the right.

In the second half, after about ten evenly matched minutes, Italy created the first scoring chance. From the left corner of the opponent's penalty area, Camarda cleverly backheeled to Di Nunzio, who sent a precise low cross back to the incoming Liberali. Liberali's left-footed shot from the edge of the box just sailed over the crossbar. The Azzurrini continued to push and shortly after, they threatened the Danish goalkeeper with a close-range right-footed shot from Coletta that hit the side netting. Favo's boys didn't give an inch and on 73', they came close to doubling their lead again. Camarda, with a driving run and powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box, saw his effort tipped over the crossbar by the alert Breum-Harild. In the final minutes, after a dangerous low cross from Johannesen that went untouched in front of goal, Coletta had the chance to get his brace, but his chip, one-on-one with the Danish goalkeeper, went just wide to the right. The Azzurrini then began their celebrations.

Denmark 0-1 Italia (0-1 first half)

Denmark: Breum-Harild; Gustafsen, Markmann (62' Ankamafio), Lassen © (62' Moalem), Højer, Obi, Abildgaard, Risnæs (46' Jørgensen), Søndergaard, Andersen (88' Tornvig), Hyseni (46' Johannesen). Unused subs: De Paoli (Gk), Düring, Heyde, Lützhøft. Coach: Jesper Mikkelsen.

Italy: Pessina; Emanuel, Cama, Verde, Coletta, Di Nunzio (86' Mantini), Camarda, Liberali (71' Orlandi), Mosconi ©, Sala, Natali. Unused subs: Nunziante (Gk), Garofalo, Ballo, Nardin, Lontani, Lauricella, Campaniello. Coach: Massimiliano Favo.

Goal: 30' Coletta.

Referee: Antoni Bandić (BIH). Assistant referees: Stefan Tešanović (BIH) and Petar Mitrev (BUL). Fourth official: Radoslav Gidzhenov (BUL).

Bookings: Emanuel (I).

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)

20:30 local time (19:30 CEST): ITALY vs. Portugal, Limassol Stadium in Limassol