Unlucky start to the European Championship for the National Under 17 team who, at the BSC Stadium in Budaörs, lost 2-1 against Spain. Bernardo Corradi's boys, after having gone ahead in the 15th minute with Federico Ragnoli Galli (Atalanta), suffered a second-half Spain comeback, scoring first in the 53rd and then in the 75th minute with Marc Guiu. The Azzurrini will be back on the pitch on Sunday 21st May at 20:00 CEST against Serbia, who lost 4-2 against Slovenia in the afternoon, at the Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium in Budapest. Present in the stands was the Italian ambassador to Hungary, Manuel Jacoangeli, who attended the match together with the head of delegation Filippo Corti.

"We played a very good match, in my opinion," stressed Corradi. "The danger, when you lose the match, is to look only at the negative side: that of having conceded a few too many chances. In the first half, I liked what I saw, while in the second half, unfortunately, we lost a bit of concentration and we were less brilliant, giving up possession easily. When you build less from the bottom it's normal to struggle a bit more because you have to run more. Now we have to recharge our batteries because the boys spent a lot and played a good match."

The match. Italy made its debut in group B with Martinelli in goal; defence, from right to left, consisting of Magni, Sadotti, Bassino and Cocchi; midfield, again from right to left, formed by Crapisto, Riccio and Mannini; in attack, behind the Ragnoli Galli-Ravaglioli pair, the trequartista Romano played.

Corradi's lads got off to a strong start and, after Raúl had trouble with Matteo Cocchi's (Inter) venomous left-footed shot, they took the lead in the 15th minute through Federico Ragnoli Galli (Atalanta), who took advantage of a defensive error by Fort in the Spanish penalty area after Vittorio Magni's (Milan) cross from the right. Spain, after having risked cashing in on the Azzurri's doubling goal with the usual Cocchi, tried to even the score with Javi Fernández's powerful conclusion from the distance on the half-hour mark, but Tommaso Martinelli (Fiorentina) blocked without any problems. In the final minutes of the first half, there was room for a right-footed shot from Matta Mannini (Roma) and a left-footed effort from the distance by the irrepressible Cocchi, both just a whisker wide.

In the second half, after a couple of early attempts by Lamine Yamal, Julen Guerrero's boys found the equaliser through Marc Guiu who, in the 53rd minute, was lucky to find the ball kicked over the crossbar by Rajado on his foot. Spain took courage and, first with Pau Cubarsí and then with Rajado, forced Martinelli into a miracle. Luck, however, was not on the side of the Azzurrini who, in the 75th minute, suffered the 2-1 Spanish goal signed, once again, by Marc Guiu, whose right-footed shot from 20m was deflected just enough by an opposing defender to deceive the extreme defender of Italy. In the final, despite a couple of attempts by Ragnoli Galli, Corradi's boys failed to find the equalising goal.

Scoresheet

Italy 1-2 Spain

Italy (4-3-1-2) : Martinelli; Magni, Sadotti (71' Ramaj), Bassino, Cocchi (71' Pagnucco); Crapisto, Riccio, Mannini (C) (59' Mendicino); Romano (65' Fini); Ragnoli Galli, Ravaglioli (59' Rao).
Subs: Plaia (GK), De Pieri, Vezzosi, Liberali.
Coach: Corradi.

Spain (4-3-3) : Raúl; Fort (46' David Arza), Jon Martín (C), Pau Cubarsí, Dani Muñoz; Javi Fernández (46' Roberto), Izan, Alejandro (67' Lluc Castell); Lamine Yamal, Marc Guiu (80' Pau Prim), Rajado (74' Juan Hernández).
Subs: Fran (GK), Hugo Martínez, Óscar.
Coach: Julen Guerrero.

Referee: Miloš Milanović (Serbia).
Assistant 1: Milan Sutulović (Serbia).
Assistant 2: Kyriakos Sokratous (Cyprus).
Fourth official: Radoslav Gidzhenov (Bulgaria).

Goalscorers: 15' Ragnoli Galli (Italy), 53' Marc Guiu (Spain), 75' Marc Guiu (Spain).

Bookings: 29' Magni (Italy), 53' Bassino (Italy), 53' Raúl (Spain), 89' Crapisto (Italy), 90'+5 Roberto (Spain).
Red cards: -

Note: added tine 1'- 5'. Corners: 1-7.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Tommaso Martinelli (Fiorentina), Diego Mascardi (Spezia), Francesco Plaia (Spezia);
Defenders: Alessandro Bassino (Juventus), Matteo Cocchi (Inter), Alfonso De Luca (Napoli), Vittorio Magni (Milan), Filippo Pagnucco (Juventus), Gabriel Ramaj (Atalanta), Edoardo Sadotti (Fiorentina), Alessandro Ventre (Juventus), Giorgio Vezzosi (Sassuolo);
Midfielders: Lorenzo Carfora (Benevento), Francesco Crapisto (Juventus), Giacomo De Pieri (Inter), Gabriele Finocchiaro (Juventus), Cosimo Fiorini (Zurigo), Mattia Mannini (Roma), Leonardo Mendicino (Atalanta), Lorenzo Riccio (Atalanta), Marco Romano (Genoa)
Forwards: Seydou Fini (Genoa), Mattia Liberali (Milan), Federico Ragnoli Galli (Atalanta), Emanuele Rao (Spal), Tommaso Ravaglioli (Bologna), Filippo Scotti (Milan).

Staff - Coach: Bernardo Corradi; National Youth Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant coach: Massimiliano Favo; Goalkeeper coach: Davide Quironi; Athletic trainer: Adalberto Zamuner; Match analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Doctor: Attilio Romano; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; Press: Alessandro Paoli; School tutor: Stefano Presciutti; Physiotherapist: Enrico Matera; Secretary: Massimo Petracchini.

Schedule

Group B standings: Slovenia 3, Spain 3, ITALY 0, Serbia 0

1st Matchday (Thursday 18 May)
Serbia 2-4 Slovenia
ITALY 1-2 Spain

2nd Matchday (Sunday 21 May)
Spain v Slovenia (16.30 CEST, Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium in Budapest)
Serbia v ITALY (20 CEST, Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium in Budapest)

3rd Matchday (Wednesday 24 May)
Spain v Serbia (17 CEST, BSC Stadium in Budaörs)
Slovenia v ITALYT (17 CEST, Telki Training Centre in Telki)

Quarter finals (Saturday 27 May)

Under-17 World Cup tiebreaker (Tuesday 30 May)

Semi-finals (Tuesday 30 May)

Finals (Friday 2 June)