The Italy U16s kicked off their campaign at the 25th edition of the Val de Marne International Tournament with a narrow 1-0 win over Japan at the Didier Pironi in Limeil-Brévannes. The Azzurrini, coached by Marco Scarpa, secured the win thanks to Atalanta forward Marcello Fugazzola in the 20th minute. Three minutes earlier, Reiji Hirata’s side went down to ten men after defender Riku Kusano was sent of for a foul on Bologna forward Kevin Fustini. Hosts France beat Switzerland 5-1 in the other game.

The Azzurrini coach emphasised: “It was a good win against a very intense opponent, they tested us in terms of pace. The lads did well in taking the lead and constructing chances. I am very happy with their performance but we could have won by bigger margin.”

Italy will play again on Thursday 31 October at 14:00 CET at the Parc des Sports des Maisons Rouges in Bry-sur-Marne where they face Switzerland. Scarpa: “There will be some rotation because the aim of these tournaments is to assess and build on our lads understanding, especially the newer faces.”

25th Val de Marne international tournament

Teams: France, ITALY, Japan and Switzerland

Matchday 1 (Tuesday 29 October)
Japan 0-1 ITALY
France 5-1 Switzerland

Table: France (+4) and ITALY (+1) 3, Japan (-1) and Switzerland (-4) 0.

Matchday 2 (Thursday 31 October, all times CET) 
14:00 - Switzerland vs. ITALY Parc des Sports des Maisons Rouges in Bry-sur-Marne
16:00 - France vs. Japan, Complexe Sportif Philippe De Dieuleveult, Plessis-Trévise

Matchday 3 (Saturday 2 November, all times CET)
14:00 - Japan vs. Switzerland, Stade Léo Lagrange in Bonneuil-sur-Marne
16:00 - France vs. ITALY, Stade Léo Lagrange in Bonneuil-sur-Marne