Four months on from their win in Dublin, thanks to which they moved to within one point of Sweden, the Under-21 National Team continued their European qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw against Montenegro in Podgorica today, thus moving level with the Swedes at the top and still with a game in hand.

It was, however, a below-par display from the Azzurrini, who didn’t reach the standards they’ve set up to now. Paulo Nicolato’s side fell behind in the 37th minute (Rakonjac with the goal) but hit back two minutes later with an equaliser from Samuele Ricci. It was a good response and the team showed fight, but they only really rediscovered their identity in the closing stages. Unfortunately, the Azzurrini failed to come away with a victory, something they’ll need to strive to achieve with more conviction when they face Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Stadio Nereo Rocco in Padua on Tuesday.

THE MATCH - Nicolato went for continuity, sticking with the 4-3-3 that this side are increasingly becoming well-acquainted with. Carnesecchi lined up in between the sticks, while Bellanova, Lovato, Okoli and Parisi made up the backline. Without Tonali, who is now a part of the senior setup, the midfield consisted of Portanova, Esposito and Ricci, with Lucca flanked by Colombo and Vignato up front.

Against a Montenegro side that don’t allow much room to play in, composure was required, as was a clinical edge. Both were missing from Italy’s game in the opening stages. In the lead-up to the match, Nicolato sounded the alarm, commenting that young players weren’t playing enough and, above all, there was a lack of talent to choose from in Serie B. And he wouldn’t have been impressed by the team’s performance early on, with the Azzurrini looking disjointed and failing to raise the tempo to a level that could have caused their opponents problems. The condition of the pitch probably didn’t help either.

The team were particularly struggling with their build-up play: too many long and wayward balls were being played in Lucca’s direction, with the Montenegrin defence comfortably dealing with whatever was coming their way. It wasn’t really a surprise, then, that the hosts had the first shot of the game (a long-range effort from Brnovic in the 18th minute), although Italy responded with an imprecise attempt by Parisi from distance two minutes later. With the Azzurrini well off the pace, the home side took the lead in the 37th minute as Rakonjac converted from a seemingly offside position.  

Italy had been dealt a blow but didn’t cave, quickly striking back. Just two minutes later, Samuele Ricci bagged his first Under-21 goal, firing home with a first-time effort with his right foot to level matters.

Things didn’t improve much after the restart. Montenegro threatened in the 58th minute, but fortunately nobody was able to get a shot away with the ball bouncing around in the area. Nicolato made two changes on the 63-minute mark, with Cancellieri and Fagioli replacing Colombo and Ricci. There was very little goalmouth action until the 85th minute, when Okoli’s header from Esposito’s corner finished inches off target.

After the full-time whistle, Nicolato had the following to say: “We knew that it wouldn’t be easy. We struggled to find our way into the match and – I’m not looking for excuses when I say this – were affected by the poor state of the pitch. This will do.”