Almost 20 years have passed since 26 July 2003. 20, very long, years. From Vadus to Ta' Qali, from Liechtenstein to Malta. The Under-19 National Team have the chance to become European Champions again. Alberto Bollini’s side will be aiming to replicate Paolo Berrettini’s team when they face Portugal, who they lost to during the group stage. This time, however, three points aren’t up for grabs but rather something much more important, something which will remain etched in history, just like Della Rocca and Pazzini’s goals in 2003. Kick-off is scheduled for 21:00 CEST at the National Stadium.

“It’s not about revenge; it’s a European final,” said Bollini. “We need to give great credit to this group and recognise the extraordinary work that has been carried out by the staff to help us get this far; it’s been very testing. Two teams who were in the same group have made it to the final, and it shows the quality both we and Portugal possess. The defeat during the group stage wasn’t an exact reflection of our group. We did well to reset after that loss, displaying great unity off the pitch. Portugal have made it this far having not lost a match across the Elite Round and the finals, but we’ll look to use our weapons.”

 

Captain Giacomo Faticanti, who is preparing to play in his second final in a little over a month after the U20s’ defeat to Uruguay in La Plata, added the following: “You play finals with your head. You need to have steady nerves and a lot of heart. Our strength has been the group during this journey, and we’re sure that this will be the case in this match.” After missing the Spain game through suspension, Cher Ndour will be available for the final. He’ll be another weapon at Italy’s disposal as the Azzurrini aim to bring the trophy home.

ITALY’S JOURNEY

Main Round - Poland
21 September | Italy 0-2 Estonia
24 September | Italy 3-2 Bosnia
27 September | Poland 0-1 Italy

Elite Round - Germany
22 March | Germany 2-3 Italy
25 March | Italy 0-0 Slovenia
28 March | Italy 2-2 Belgium

Finals - Malta
3 July | Malta 0-4 Italy
6 July | Portugal 5-1 Italy
9 July | Italy 1-1 Poland
13 July | Spain 2-3 Italy
16 July | Portugal vs. Italy (Ta' Qali, 21:00 CEST)
Referee: Jablonski (Germany). Assistants: Coelho Morim  (Luxembourg), Kempter (Germany). Fourth official: Bogar (Hungary)

Previous European Under-19 Championship winners

8 Spain(2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)
3 France(2005, 2010, 2016)
2 England(2017, 2022), Germany(2008, 2014)
1 Italy(2003), Portugal(2018), Serbia(2013), Ukraine (2009)