Italy displayed courage and grit to bounce back after being pegged back, beating Spain 3-2 in a thrilling encounter on the Enzo Bearzot pitch at Coverciano. Italy took the lead on the 14-minute mark, with Romano taking advantage of some indecision in the Spanish backline and showing excellent feet before beating Vara to make it 1-0.

The Azzurrini doubled their advantage shortly after the restart. It was a great goal, too, as Fiorini successfully let fly with a free kick from just over 25 yards out. Just as it seemed like Italy were in full control, Martin reduced the arrears with a header from a corner (59’) before Daniel Diaz grabbed an equaliser on the counter (68’). However, in the 71st minute, Scotti won it for the Azzurrini after a mistake by Vallina in the Spanish goal.

“It was a learning experience; it’s difficult to face Spain, who are an excellent passing side,” said Head Coach Daniele Zoratto after the game. “They had the majority of the play, but we were able to fight with our weapons, creating several opportunities. This is really satisfying against a high-quality opponent. I’m pleased on a personal level too given that I had never beaten Spain since becoming part of the Italy setup twelve years ago.”

Italy 3-2 Spain
ITALY: Tommasi; Della Mora (70’ Soldà), Sadotti (70’ Bakoune), Ramaj (62’ Zilio), Pagnucco; Fiorini (85’ Riccio), Simonetta (46’ Valdes), Mancioppi (61’ Mannini); Romano (85’ Finocchiaro); Scotti (85’ Pisano), Ragnoli Galli (62’ Ravaglioli). Subs: Martinelli, Litti. Head Coach: Zoratto
SPAIN: Vara (46’ Vallina); Lozano, Martin (72’ Aznar), Olmedo (65’ Fort), Roman; Morales (65’ Daniel Diaz), Diaz (84’ Lopez), Fernandez; Rajado (65’ Pradas), Esteban (84’ Alba), Martin (84’ Gonzalez). Subs: Jimenez, Munoz, Prim, Perez. Head Coach: Lana
REFEREE: Moretti. Assistants: Jordan and Giannetti. Fourth Official: Papi
GOALS: 14’ Romano, 49’ Fiorini, 59’ Martin, 68’ Daniel Diaz, 71’ Scotti
NOTE - Added time: 0’, 48’

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Tommaso Martinelli (Fiorentina), Francesco Tommasi (Inter);
Defenders: Adam Bakoune (Milan), Tommaso Della Mora (Inter), Marco Litti (Roma), Filippo Pagnucco (Juventus), Gabriel Ramaj (Atalanta), Edoardo Sadotti (Fiorentina), Mohamed Soldà (Bologna), Andrea Zilio (Bologna);
Midfielders: Gabriele Finocchiaro (Juventus),  Cosimo Fiorini (Fiorentina), Tommaso Mancioppi (Milan), Mattia Mannini (Roma), Ngana Valdes (Juventus), Lorenzo Riccio (Atalanta), Marco Romano (Genoa), Jacopo Simonetta (Spal);
Forwards: Manuel Giuseppe Pisao (Juventus), Tommaso Ravaglioli (Bologna), Federico Ragnoli Galli (Atalanta), Filippo Scotti (Milan).

Staff – Head Coach: Daniele Zoratto; Assistant Coach: Davide Cei; Goalkeeping Coach: Mattia Volpi; Fitness Coach: Fabio Patteri; Match analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Doctors: Valerio Andreozzi and Riccardo Capitani; Physiotherapist: Marco Di Salvo; Scout: Antonio Martella; Secretary: Alessandro Lulli.