The first objective has been achieved. After their wins against Portugal (1-0) and Greece (4-0), the Under-18 National Team played out a 0-0 draw with Turkey to finish top of their group and qualify for the semi-finals of the Mediterranean Games. Joining Italy in the last four will be the Turks, who benefitted from Portugal’s surprising defeat to Greece.

The Azzurrini will return to the pitch on Saturday evening (22:00 CEST), when, in Sig, they’ll take on the second-place side from Group A, whose final games will be played this evening. France currently sit top on four points, with Algeria and Morocco on three. Spain are bottom with a single point to their name, but they still have a chance of progressing if they beat the Moroccans.

Regardless of their semi-final opponents, the Azzurrini can look ahead to Saturday’s match with confidence. The numbers attest to this: Italy are unbeaten in the tournament following two wins and a draw, and they’ve scored five and conceded zero in the process. As was also the case against Portugal and Greece, the match against the Turks in Mers El Hadjadj came alive in the second half. D’Andrea and Hasa both came close to scoring the winning goal, with Turkey dropping deep to secure a draw that sealed qualification.

“The lads produced another good performance,” said Head Coach Daniele Franceschini. “Given that it was our third game in five days, it wasn’t easy. It’s positive that we kept another clean sheet today. Now, we need to recuperate and assess the conditions of a few players who are a bit sore. However, we’re ready for the semis and have all the cards at our disposal to continue to do well.”

Fixtures, results and standings in Group B

Matchday 1 (26 June)
Greece 1-2 Turkey
ITALY 1-0 Portugal

Matchday 2 (28 June)
ITALY 4-0 Greece 
Portugal 2-0 Turkey

Matchday 3 (30 June)
ITALY 0-0 Turkey 
Portugal 0-2 Greece 

Standings: ITALY 7 points, Turkey 4, Portugal and Greece 3

Semi-finals (2 July)

Winner Group A vs. Turkey (18:30 CEST, Mers El Hadjadj)

ITALY vs. Runner-up Group A (22:00 CEST, Sig)

Finals (4 July)

Third-place playoff (18:00 CEST, Complexe Olympique)

Final (21:30 CEST, Complexe Olympique)