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Massimiliano Favo’s U18s won once again, beating the United Arab Emirates 1-0 in Nedelišće in their second game of the friendly tournament in Croatia, following a clean 3-0 win against South Korea in Vrbovec. Torino midfielder, Andrea Luongo, secured the victory with his goal in the 80th minute.

“We gave game time to those who had less in the first game against a team who played with a deep line and a relentless attitude,” said the Azzurrini head coach. “We struggled a bit, because the boys didn’t know each other all that well as they hadn’t played together that often before. After the break, we made a few changes, and we managed to score from a corner through Luongo. The matches help us to learn how to face a closed-off side: the boys need to adapt, find solutions and learn to play in different ways to how they are used to. Today, on an international level, all teams are organised and winning is never easy.”

Italy will be back in action on Tuesday 9 September (11:00 CEST), at the Gradski Stadion in Vrbovec, to face hosts Croatia in the third, and last game, of the tournament. Favo then added, “We want to give the new boys some experience and test them but also train them and find the right solutions ahead of the U17 World Cup (due to take place in Qatar from 3 to 27 November). We must keep working in this way.”

The schedule

Matchday 1 (Wednesday 3 September)
ITALY 3-0 South Korea

Matchday 2 (Saturday 6 September)
United Arab Emirates 0-1 ITALY

Matchday 3 (Tuesday 9 September)
11:00 CEST Croatia vs. ITALY, Gradski Stadion in Vrbovec