Italy recently finished third in the 2010 InterCup, as they continued their World Beach Games preparations in Saint Petersburg. With the competition taking place in an indoor structure in Russia, it was in fact the host country that triumphed after beating Kristall 7-6.

For their third-place play-off, Coach Del Duca was without both Gori and Chiacaro against Delta, who were both suspended. Nevertheless, the Azzurri fought on, with Gentilin playing even despite a knock. The first half finished 2-0 to Delta, although Italy soon turned things around thanks to goals from Gentilini and Palazzolo. An own goal helped the Azzurri’s cause, while further strikes from Palmacci and Zurlo secured the eventual win for Italy.

“It was a hard match today,” said Alfio Chiavaro, who was forced to watch from the sidelines. “However, I saw great spirit within the team and a strong desire to do well.”

“It’s an important win and we did well to get the result,” said Gabriele Gori, who finished as top scorer despite his final absence. “It was a performance full of heart and I’m proud of us as always.” Simone Del Mestre also picked up the award for the tournament’s best goalkeeper.

ITALY-DELTA 5-3 ET (0-2, 1-0, 2-1, 2-0)

Goals: 1’pt Zaharov (D), 6’pt Andreev (D), 5’st Gentilini (I), 6’tt Pankratov (D), 9’tt Palazzolo (I), 10’tt Vinogradov (D) OG., 1’et Palmacci (I), 2’et Zurlo (I)

Italy: Del Mestre, Gentilin, Di Palma, Zurlo, Carpita, Corosiniti, Marinai, Palazzolo, Palmacci, Frainetti; Coach. Del Duca

Delta: Andreev, Barsukov, Basov, Vinogradov, Gaishunov, Ermakov, Zaharov, Klukin, Pankratov, Peletskiy, Peremitin, Tagiev; Coach,ì. Kuritcin

Booking: Zurlo