The Under 16s won for the second time in three days by beating Albania 6-0 in Elbasan, following up Tuesday's 5-1 friendly win in Tirana against the same opponents. Italy end their Albanian trip with eleven goals scored and only one conceded, with ten different scorers (one was an own-goal), having had the chance for everyone to showcase their worth.

“We're pleased," said Head Coach Daniele Zoratto. "It was a good, dominant performance against a side who hardly had a shot on goal. Everyone gave an excellent performance, and a few players who looked out of shape a little have got themselves back on the right track.” In a month's time, the Azzurrini will face Germany in another friendly double-header: “We're certainly expecting two tougher games," confirmed Zoratto, "but we'll be ready for them."

THE MATCH. Zoratto put out a completely different starting eleven to the first game earlier in the week, selecting Pessina between the sticks, Diallo and Maffessoli as the central defence pairing, and Cappelletti and Contarini either side of them. In midfield, there were places for Arduini, Olivieri, Della Rovere and Plicco, while up front saw Orlandi and Castaldo chosen. In Albania's line-up, there were four players part of Italian club Youth academies (Kogecaj, Halili, Huqi and Nuredini), and another six started on the bench.

The match was an exact replica of the first friendly, with Italy in absolute control. 16 minutes was all that was needed for the Azzurrini to break the deadlock: a corner in from Alessandro Olivieri (Empoli) and Francesco Castaldo (Bologna) rose highest to head home to make it 1-0. Again from a corner on the half-hour mark, Andrea Orlandi (Empoli) doubled Italy's lead, nipping in to take advantage of a defensive block by Pepnikaj, and slotting home from just a few yards out. In first-half injury-time, Olivieri effectively sealed the game by punishing an error made by Brescia's Kogecaj.

After the break, the Azzurrini carried on where they left off and added their fourth through substitute Mattia Mosconi's left-footed strike (Inter), after being served up by Olivieri. Then, the same Olivieri, with Mosconi returning the favour, finished off a lovely one-two to get the fifth. The final goal went to Alessandro Di Nunzio (Roma), who followed up on the rebound, after Castaldo's attempt was saved by the Albanian keeper. It ended 6-0.