Following their big 5-2 defeat in their opening game against France, the Under-16 National Team bounced back with a 4-0 win over tournament hosts Turkey, earning their first three points of the UEFA Tournament in Antalya. A great performance from the Azzurrini, who dominated the game and came close to the opener twice in the first 15 minutes: Nicolò Turco saw his goal ruled out for handball in minute three, while it was only the post that denied Nicolò Ledonne after 15 minutes.

Instead, it was Tommaso Mancini who succeeded in breaking the deadlock in the 18th minute, the Vicenza forward netting with his head for his third goal of the tournament after his consolation brace in Monday’s loss against France. Italy neared a second on plenty of occasions, and it finally came 33 minutes into the second half thanks to a penalty both won and converted by Michele Masala. Then Andrea Semenza, having just come on with just six minutes left on the clock, scored two stoppage-time goals to give Italy a 4-0 lead by the final whistle.

Coach Daniele Zoratto spoke after full-time: “The boys put in an excellent performance. They went out onto the pitch with a different spirit to the opening game against France, playing with great determination and dominating the game in every way. We scored four goals and could have got more. The defence worked well too and there were none of the lapses in concentration that we witnessed on Monday. Today I saw a big step forward from the team, even though there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

The Azzurrini now return to action on Saturday (11:00 local time, 09:00 CET), as they face a Paraguay side reeling from a 5-0 drumming by France earlier today.

Schedule, results and ranking:

Matchday one (24 February)

ITALY 2-5 France 

Turkey 1-0 Paraguay 

Matchday two (26 February)

Turkey 0-4 ITALY 

Paraguay 0-5 France 

Ranking: France 6 points, ITALY and Turkey 3, Paraguay 0

Matchday three (29 February)

Paraguay vs. ITALY

Turkey vs. France