The second and final friendly at the Riano Athletic Centre ended in a narrow defeat for the Italy Under-18 national team, which, after drawing 2-2 on Tuesday, lost 1-0 to to Ukraine. The match was sealed by a goal in the 45th minute by 2009-born Stuttgart forward Kirill Serdiuk. Showing the Federation’s support for the Azzurrini, who won bronze at the last U18 World Cup in Qatar, was President Gabriele Gravina in the stands, accompanied by Organisational Secretary Mauro Vladovich.

Coach Massimiliano Favo commented, “In these two games, we wanted to give different players a chance. Thanks to the excellent run we had at the World Cup, we were able to give our players some well-deserved recognition. It’s no coincidence that some of them have already made their first-team debuts. We’re in a period of ‘rebuilding,’ which is why we had lots of new players, and we wanted to test their ability to compete at the international level. In these games, the team stayed organised and in control of the match, but we lacked some of that finishing ability. That’s something we’ll need to work on. But we’re pleased to have players who can help us with this. These matches are meant to help them develop for the future, preparing them for competitions such as the Euros and the World Cup.”