A commanding display from the Under-16 national side, who opened their UEFA Development Tournament campaign with a convincing 5-1 victory over their Greek counterparts at the Estádio São Sebastião in Mirandela. The tournament runs in Portugal until Sunday 24 May.

Italy opened the scoring 16 minutes in through Lazio trequartista Michele Elena, before wrapping up the first half at 3-0 with further goals from Genoa playmaker Roberto Scaglione in the 17th and Juventus forward Giuseppe Pipitò in the 33rd minute. After the break, Manuel Pasqual's side increased the advantage further, with Juventus midfielder Gabriele Tufaro adding a fourth in the 48th minute and Como forward Achille Cauli a fifth in the 54th, before Olympiakos striker Michail Mouchalis pulled one back for Greece in the 85th.

"It was a very strong performance," the Italy head coach noted. "Aside from the first and last five minutes, we were in full control throughout – playing with intensity and consistently showing an attacking mindset. It was a high-level match, especially considering we were without five players (Gabriele Borsa, Federico Croci, Lorenzo Dattilo, Mattia Guaglinone and Francesco Olivieri)  who are with the Under-17s at the pre-Euros training camp in Rome. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish them and the entire delegation the very best of luck from all of us here."

Italy return to action on Thursday 21 May at the Estádio Municipal de Macedo de Cavaleiros, kicking off at 11:00 local time (12:00 Italian time) against the Czech Republic, who open their own campaign that afternoon against hosts Portugal at 17:00 local time (18:00 Italian time). "We'll assess how the players are feeling," Pasqual added, "but there will certainly be some changes from today as we look to manage the squad's workload carefully."

 

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Umberto Costante (Inter), Filippo Rondelli (Atalanta);
Defenders: Mattia Barbone (Fiorentina), Giuseppe Cafasso (Lecce), Daniel Ethan Colombo (Virtus Entella), Lorenzo Damonte (Genoa), Alessandro Ghiotto (Juventus), Raphael Libero Mazzotta (Juventus), Jeff Odje (Atalanta), Alberto Samà (Juventus);
Midfielders: Lorenzo Bernamonte (Fiorentina), Nicola Cappellato (Atalanta)*, Edoardo Rastello (Torino), Roberto Scaglione (Genoa), Gabriele Tufaro (Juventus);
Forwards: Achille Cauli (Como), Maximilian Donner (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Michele Elena (Lazio), Giuseppe Pipitò (Juventus), Filippo Serantoni (Inter)**.

*Called up on 14 May to replace Cristian Norelli (Cremonese).
**Called up on 16 May to replace Mattia Niccolò Barzagli (Fiorentina).

 

Staff – Head coach: Manuel Pasqual; Assistant coach: Matteo Barella; Goalkeeper coach: Davide Quironi; Fitness coach: Luca Coppari; Match analyst: Nicolò Tolin; Team doctors: Gabriele Altavilla and Riccardo Capitani; Nutritionist: Filippo Maria Perricelli; Physiotherapist: Luca De Marchi; Secretary: Fabio Ferappi.

UEFA Development Tournament Single group: Czech Republic, Greece, ITALY, Portugal

Matchday 1 (Tuesday 20 May) ITALY vs. Greece 5-1 | 18:00: Portugal vs. Czech Republic, Estádio Municipal de Braga

Standings: ITALY 3, Czech Republic 0, Portugal 0, Greece 0.

Matchday 2 (Thursday 21 May) 12:00: ITALY vs. Czech Republic, Estádio Municipal de Macedo de Cavaleiros | 18:00: Portugal vs. Greece, Estádio Municipal de Braga

Matchday 3 (Sunday 24 May) 12:00: Portugal vs. ITALY, Estádio Municipal de Macedo de Cavaleiros | 15:00: Czech Republic vs. Greece, Estádio Municipal de Macedo de Cavaleiros

All kick-off times CEST.