Nicolato’s Azzurrini failed to finish in the top three as Ecuador won out in the third-place playoff after 120 minutes of football as the side was unable to match the record third-place finish of two years ago in South Korea. A Mina goal in the first half of extra time proved decisive, soon after Italy’s biggest chance when Olivieri missed a penalty.

The Azzurrini arrived at the third-place playoff with a number of the previous starters missing. Bellanova, Frattesi and the front pairing of Scamacca and Pinamonti were out. Pellegrini also had to drop out at the last minute. Because of this, Nicolato had to switch to an untested 3-5-1-1 formation with Carnesecchi in goal. Gabbia, Bettella and Colpani were at the back with Del Prato sitting in front of them. Candela and Tripaldelli were out wide with Esposito and Alberico in the heart of midfield behind Capone who sat behind Gori.

Despite the experimental line-up, Italy looked brave in the opening exchanges and keen to press high. The first chance came in the 12th minute for the opponents however as a powerful Plata strike was denied by Carnesecchi. Italy had their first real chance in the 20th minute after winning the ball back but Alberico couldn’t keep it on target. The strict refereeing from the Spaniard Gil Manzano meant it was a first half without much in the way of chances although the Ecuadorians were slightly in control.

In the second half, Ecuador pushed harder but the Italy defenders could deal with it, forcing Plata, Cifuentes, Rezabala and Palacios to try their luck from distance. One of these long shots from Campana in the 55th looked like it was heading in but Carnesecchi was able to tip it onto the post. Nicolato was quick to change things, bring Olivieri and Colpani on for Gori and Esposito. A Tripaldelli injury in the 82nd minute saw Pellegrini come on despite not being in peak condition but Italy were on top when the 90 minutes of normal time came to a close.

The positive sensations from the end of the second half continued as The Azzurrini had their biggest chance of the match early in the first half of extra time. Juventus forward Olivieri was brought down by Quintero five minutes into extra time and it was a penalty. Olivieri stepped up himself to take it but Ramirez saved. Ecuador made the most of being let off by scoring just before the end of the half. The ball was played into a crowd, came off an Italy defender and Mina pounced to beat Carnesecchi from close range.

Italy kept fighting despite the fatigue. There was a chance for Ranieri in the 116th minute as the ball was launched high into the Ecuador box and the defender brought it down before firing just wide of Ramirez’s post. Despite all of their efforts, the Azzurrini couldn’t find the goal to send it to penalties.

 

 

ITALY 0-1 ECUADOR 

Goals: 103’ Mina

ITALY (3-5-1-1): Carnesecchi – Gabbia, Bettella, Ranieri - Candela, Esposito (Colpani 61’), Del Prato, Alberico, Tripaldelli (Pellegrini 82’) - Capone, Gori (Olivieri 61’)

Coach Nicolato. Subsitutes: Plizzari, Buongiorno, Frattesi, Scamacca, Bellanova, Loria

ECUADOR (4-2-3-1): Ramirez – Espinoza (Mina 60’), Porozo, Vallecilla, Palacios – Cifuentes, Alcivar (Loor 112’) – Plata, Rezabala (Quintero 83’), Alvarado Castillo 118’) - Campana

Coach Celico. Substitutes.: Estupinan, Bellolio, Arce, Segura, Lara, Plaza

Referee: Gil Manzano (SPA). Assistants: Nevado Rodriguez (SPA) and Barbero Sevilla (SPA). Fourth official: Gholbal (ALG); Var: Hernandez Hernandez (SPA), Al Marri (QAT)

Bookings: Candela, Vallecilla, Capone, Quintero, Plata, Olivieri, Gabbia

Squad

Goalkeepers: Alessandro Plizzari (Milan), Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Leonardo Loria (Juventus);

Defenders: Luca Pellegrini (Cagliari), Alessandro Buongiorno (Carpi), Alessandro Tripaldelli (Crotone), Luca Ranieri (Foggia), Matteo Gabbia (Lucchese), Raoul Bellanova (Milan), Davide Bettella (Pescara), Antonio Candela (Genoa), Enrico Delprato (Atalanta);

Midfielders: Salvatore Esposito (Ravenna), Davide Frattesi (Ascoli), Domenico Roberto Alberico (Hoffenheim), Andrea Colpani (Atalanta);

Forwards: Gabriele Gori (Livorno), Marco Olivieri (Juventus), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo), Andrea Pinamonti (Frosinone), Christian Capone (Pescara).

Staff – Delegation Head: Massimo Paganin; National Teams Co-ordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Head Coach: Paolo Nicolato; Assistant Coach: Mirco Gasparetto; Secretary: Fabio Ferappi; Fitness Coach: Vincenzo Pincolini; Goalkeeping Coach: Matteo Mareggini; Match Analyst: Francesco Bordin; Doctors: Matteo Vitali and Luca Labianca; Physiotherapists: Nicola Sanna and Andrea Mangino; Nutritionist: Alessio Colli.