Gianluca Scamacca, the Genoa striker born in 1999 who is also on Coach Mancini’s radar, scored but it was not enough for the Azzurri Under 21s, who must share the points with the Czech Republic after a 1-1 draw in the opening match of a European Championship with an unusual format; despite the group matches being played this week, the final knockout phase is scheduled for next June. In Celje, the Cutrone-Scamacca partnership gave Italy the lead in the first half, before they slowed down slightly in the second half and were punished by a Maggiore own goal. Going into the end of the game with ten men after Tonali was shown a red card, after which Marchizza followed suit in injury time, Italy came close on several occasions to the 2-1 goal but failed to bring home a victory that would have been well deserved. And so, after Spain won 3-0 against Slovenia in the group’s other game, the match with them in Maribor on Saturday becomes even more important, a fixture that will see the two most decorated teams in the history of the tournament come up against each other (five U21 continental titles each).

Coach Paolo Nicolato’s analysis is self-evident: "Winning would have been better, but a defeat would have been worse. In the second half, we could have done a bit more, but many of the players don’t have the match practice. Even when down to ten men we created a lot of chances, we were a bit unlucky”. And against Spain, Italy will also have to do without the suspended Tonali and Marchizza: “The two red cards aren’t ideal, but we accept them”.

MATCH REPORT. Coach Nicolato started with a 3-5-2 formation, spearheaded by the duo of Scamacca, fresh from his brace at Parma last weekend, and Cutrone. Playing in front of Carnesecchi was Gabbia, Delprato, and Marchizza, with Zappa and Sala on the flanks, while Tonali was entrusted with the deep-lying playmaker role, supported in midfield by Frattesi and Maggiore. Italy took control of the game in the early stages, pressing the Czechs high to hinder their construction of play and to recover the ball quickly. However, the first real chance fell for the Czech Republic in the 11th minute: A free kick from the left was met by Krejci's who headed it down for Lingr to shoot at goal, and Carnesecchi reacted well. A quick response came from Scamacca who, set up by Cutrone, shot with his right foot from a tight angle, only for Jedlicka to save. The two Azzurri strikers would then become the main protagonists at the half-hour mark when the goal came to give Italy the advantage. Cutrone's assist was too inviting for Scamacca, who rounded Jedlicka and put the ball in the net to make it 1-0. Italy continued to attack, Cutrone forced Jedlicka into action, while at the other end Carnesecchi had to be attentive to save Sasinka’s effort.

As Italy lowered the pace in the second half, the Czech Republic gained more of a foothold in the game but did not create major problems for the Azzurri defence. In fact, Nicolato's team came close to a second again through Scamacca, who hit Frattesi's low cross wide from just a few feet away, in what was the last real involvement of the Monza midfielder, who left the field shortly afterward to be replaced by Rovella. Italy were given a scare in the 70th minute, as Lingr scored a goal that was quickly cancelled out due to a tight offside call. At the other end, Zappa took advantage of Scamacca's excellent back to goal work and failed to make it 2-0, his shot going wide by a matter of centimetres. Zappa and Cutrone were then taken off, replaced by Bellanova and Raspadori. And with a quarter of an hour left to play, the striking blow came for the Azzurrini, with Giulio Maggiore heading Karabec's free kick into his own net, right at the intersection of the post and crossbar.

The three points are too important, it is worth the risk. Italy threw themselves forward looking to make it 2-1, but Jedlicka first kept out Tonali’s venomous free kick, deflecting it behind for a corner, from which he saved a Gabbia header. Tonali was then shown a red card for a stomp on Sasinka, but even outnumbered the Azzurrini pushed on for the victory. Jedlicka did well and was slightly lucky to keep out Maggiore's header, and then Scamacca grazed the post to the left of the Czech goalkeeper with a right-footed shot on the turn. In added time, the last chance fell for Sala, but his left-footed volley went narrowly wide. Italy finished the match with nine men after Marchizza was given his marching orders (second yellow), and like Tonali, he will now miss Saturday's match against Spain. Ninety minutes that will likely be decisive in deciding who will go through to the quarterfinals.

Calendar, results, and standings for Group B

Matchday One (24 March)
Czech Republic 1-1 ITALY
Slovenia 0-3 Spain
Standings: Spain 3 points, ITALY and Czech Republic 1, Slovenia 0

Matchday Two (27 March)
18:00 CET: Slovenia vs. Czech Republic
21:00 CET: ITALY vs. Spain

Matchday Three (30 March)
21:00 CET: Spain vs. Czech Republic
21:00 CET: ITALY vs. Slovenia

The Schedule

Thursday 25 March  

10:45 – Video analysis before training (closed to the press) 

13:30 – Press conference at the Grand Hotel Primus 

16:00 – Technical training 

Friday 26 March 

11:00 – Training at the Ob Jezeru stadium in Slovenia (first 15 minutes open to the press 

14:00 – Press conference via zoom (Nicolato + one player)  

19:00 – Walk around the stadium 

Saturday 27 March  

19:00 – Technical training followed by departure for the Maribor stadium  

21:00 SPAIN VS ITALY. Followed by a press conference via zoom (Nicolato + one player) and return to the hotel 

Sunday 28 March  

10:45 – Video analysis before training (closed to the press) 

14:00 – Press conference at the Grand Hotel Primus 

16:00 – Technical training 

Monday 29 March  

11:00 – Training at the Ob Jezeru stadium, Slovenia (first 15 minutes open to the press)  

14:00 – Press conference via zoom (Nicolato + one player) 

16:00 – Technical training 

19:00 Walk around the stadium 

Tuesday 30 March 

19:00 Technical training before leaving for the Maribor stadium 

21:00 ITALY VS SLOVENIA followed by a press conference via zoom (Nicolato + two players) and return to the hotel 

Wednesday 31 March 

Flights depart from Maribor to Malpensa, followed by Malpensa to Fiumicino