After finishing second at the UEFA Tournament last week in Slovenia, the Under-16 National Team lost 2-0 in the first of two friendlies against the Netherlands.

In Katwijk, the home side played well in the first half and took the lead after 17 minutes following a goal in the 17th minute from Ajax midfielder Youri Regeer. Italy improved and Luca Magazzù hit the post at the start of the second half. In the 66th minute, the Inter forward saw his penalty saved after a foul on Wilfried Gnonto. At the other end, Hoogewerf converted from the spot five minutes later to make it 2-0. At 16:00 CEST on Thursday, the Azzurrini will face the Oranje again in Katwijk.

"We didn’t play well in the first half," admitted the Coach Daniele Zoratto. "The Netherlands were better at creating and finishing. We did better in the second half, we had a couple of chances to equalise and we missed a penalty. We could have got a draw but the Netherlands gave something extra and deserved the win."