Italy U20 beat San Marino thanks to a Riccardi goal in the 75th minute. After a largely uneventful first half, the Pescara forward, who have came on after the break, helped the Azzurrini to up the tempo, which had been slow in the first 45 minutes.

The Azzurrini looked to be putting in a rather ordinary performance. While their spacing between the lines was good, there was a definite lack of fluidity in the final third and Italy struggled to break down a compact San Marino defence. There were very few chances: a quick piece of interplay between Cangiano and Colombo set the Cremonese attacker free but he fired just wide of the left-hand upright. The other major chance of the half fell to captain Okoli, who popped up free in the box but headed over the crossbar. The first half ended with very few moments of excitement, apart from a few San Marino attempts which never tested Turati.

At the start of the second half, Alberto Bollini sent on Riccardi and Portanova to give a bit more impetus to the midfield and the game changed completely. The pace of the match quickened as the Azzurrini took all of the initiative into their own hands. Gallo looked increasingly dangerous down the left as he tried to drive play from out wide. In the 56th minute, Colombo tested the San Marino goalkeeper with a left-footed effort from outside the box. Italy finally got their goal with 15 minutes to go; Cudrig, who had just come on to replace Udogie, put the ball into the middle, which Colombo nodded on to Salcedo. His shot was blocked but only as far as Riccardi, who turned it home from short range. The game finished with Italy Under-20s' first win after more than a year out of action.

The U20s’ coach was satisfied after the game: “Following yesterday’s game against Mancini’s First Team, this was our second match after a really long pause. We needed to get some minutes in the legs and work on our synergy during a match. I need to give praise to San Marino, who countered our game, though we got the win in the end. We had to suffer for it but there were plenty of positives.”

San Marino 0-1 Italy U20

Goalscorers: Riccardi (75’)

San Marino (4-4-2): Benedettini, D’Addario, Brolli, Conti, Grandoni; Tomassini F. (46’ Lunadei), Golinucci E (67’ Tomassini D.), Golinucci A. (67’ Battistini), Hirsch (46’ Mularoni) (C); Berardi (81’ Pancotti), Nanni (46' Vitaioli (C). A disposizione: Rossi, Stimac, Zonzini, Zavoli, Quaranta, Sopranzi. Coach: Varrella

Italia U20 (4-3-3): Turati; Cassandro (67’ Bouah), Okoli (C), Carboni, Gallo; Ranocchia (58’ Da Riva), Viviani (46’ Riccardi),  Udogie (67’ Cudrig); Cangiano (46’ Portanova), Colombo, Salcedo (85’ Tongya). A disposizione:  Russo, Rinaldi, Bonini, Dalle Mura, Zuelli, Papetti,  Calligara, Brescianini,. Coach: Bollini

Referee: Christopher IAEGER (AUT); Linesmen: Francesco Lunardon (SMR) and Ernesto Cristiano; Fourth official: Luca Zani (SMR)

Bookings. Battistini (RSM)