With just seconds to go, the Under-21 National Team were heading for their second consecutive defeat at the Maurice Revello Tournament. But then Cher Ndour bagged his second of the game to take the match to a penalty shootout, during which the Azzurrini were faultless. Panama had made the brighter start, but Italy were able to respond and earn two points following their victory on penalties. They now have the chance to defend second spot when they face Indonesia (who haven’t picked up any points) in their final group match on Wednesday in Fos-sur-Mer. If the Azzurrini win, they’ll be involved in the third-place final on Sunday, with Ukraine having already secured top spot after four wins from four.

“We gifted them the first 25 minutes, making numerous mistakes and conceding two avoidable goals,” said Nunziata. “The lads then did well and picked up the pace, and I think we deserved to draw level and win on penalties. Individual mistakes can happen, and let’s not forget that this is a team that have never played together, so you can pay a bit of a price in this respect. In any case, this tournament represents an important opportunity for the lads to grow.”

THE MATCH. As he did against Japan and Ukraine, Nunziata fielded an attacking playmaker (in this case Esposito) behind two strikers (Fini and Raimondo). Panama made the better start and struck twice in a matter of minutes (23’ and 26’) in the first half. First, Phillips beat Sassi (on his debut after Rinaldi and Zacchi played in goal in the opening two matches) after Italy had given the ball away in the build-up. Then, Alvarado created space for himself and doubled the Central Americans’ advantage. The Azzurrini regrouped and managed to pull one back through Ndour following a cross from Turicchia (40’). And, with Panama having been reduced to ten men after Perdomo’s sending-off, it was the Braga midfielder (on loan from PSG) who levelled matters in second-half stoppage time to send the match to penalties. Italy converted all four of their spot-kicks, while Sassi denied Tello and Matos.

ITALY 2-2 PANAMA (4-1 on penalties)

ITALY (4-3-1-2): Sassi; Turicchia (67’ Zanotti), Dalle Mura, Bonfanti, Veroli; Pisilli (46’ Hasa), Bianco; Ndour; Esposito (46’ Volpato); Fini (55’ Tongya), Raimondo. Substitutes: Zacchi, Rinaldi, Ghilardi, Bertola, Fontanarosa, Pieragnolo, Faticanti, Zuccon, Cerri, Kouda. Head Coach: Nunziata

PANAMA (4-3-3): Perez; Guevara, Sanchez, Perdomo, Matos; Phillips (90’ Davis), Fields (69’ Arroyo), Moran; Pinzon (46’ Tello), Alvarado (69’ Carrasquilla), Lenis (53’ Orelien). Substitutes: Dimas, Veliz, Rodriguez, Murillo, Mendez, Lopez, Herrera, Contreras. Head Coach: Dely Valdes

Goalscorers: 23' Phillips (P), 26' Alcarado (P), 40' Ndour (I), 90’+6 Ndour (I)

Referee: Le (Vietnam). Assistants: Xie (China), Donjangreed (Thailand). Fourth official: Leal (Costa Rica)

Note: Perdomo (P) sent of in the 87th minute for second bookable offence. Phillips (P), Bianco (I), Esposito (I), Ndour (I) and Perez (P) all booked

Penalties: Volpato (I) goal, Tello (P) saved, Cerri (I) goal, Orelien (P) goal, Hasa (I) goal, Matos (P) saved, Tongya (I) goal

 

GROUP B CALENDAR
Matchday 1 - Tuesday 4 June (Vitrolles)
ITALY 4-3 Japan
Indonesia 0-3 Ukraine
No game for Panama

Matchday 2 - Thursday 6 June (Aubagne)
Ukraine 4-0 ITALY 
Indonesia 0-4 Panama
No game for Japan

Matchday 3 - Saturday 8 June (Fos)
Japan 4-1 Indonesia
Ukraine 2-0 Panama
No game for ITALY

Matchday 4 - Monday 10 June (Aubagne)
14:30 CEST - Ukraine 2-1 Japan
18:15 CEST - ITALY 2-2 Panama (4-1 on penalties)
No game for Indonesia

Table (number of games played in brackets): Ukraine (4) 12 points, Italy (3) 5, Panama (3) 4, Japan (3) 3, Indonesia (3) 0

Matchday 5 - Wednesday 12 June (Salon)
14:30 CEST - Japan vs. Panama
18:15 CEST - ITALY vs. Indonesia

GROUP A CALENDAR
Matchday 1 – Monday 3 June (Vitrolles)
South Korea 0-2 Saudi Arabia
France 0-2 Côte d'Ivoire
No game for Mexico

Matchday 2 - Wednesday 5 June (Fos-sur-Mer)
Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 South Korea
Mexico 2-2 France
No game for Saudi Arabia

Matchday 3 - Friday 7 June (Aubagne)
Mexico 3-2 Saudi Arabia
France 1-0 South Korea
No game for Côte d'Ivoire

Matchday 4 - Sunday 9 June (Aubagne)
Côte d'Ivoire 4-1 Mexico
France 4-0 Saudi Arabia
No game for South Korea

Table (number of games played in brackets): Côte d'Ivoire (3) 9 points, France (4) 7, Mexico (3) 5, Saudi Arabia (2) 3, South Korea (3) 0

Matchday 5 - Tuesday 11 June (Fos-sur-Mer)
14:00 CEST - South Korea vs. Mexico
17:30 CEST -  Côte d'Ivoire vs. Saudi Arabia
No game for France

Finals

Friday 14 June
14:00 CEST - 9th-10th place (Arles)
18:00 CEST - 7th-8th place (Arles)
17:00 CEST - 5th-6th place (Mallemort)

Sunday 16 June
14:30 CEST - 3rd-4th place (Salon)
18:15 CEST - 1st-2nd place (Salon)