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After winning their competition opener against reigning runners-up France two days ago, the Italy U17 team will return to action tomorrow at 13:30 CEST, once again at the Kalevi Central Stadium in Tallinn, to face Montenegro in the second matchday of Group B at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, taking place in Estonia until 7 June.
The Azzurrini head into the fixture full of confidence and enthusiasm following Tuesday’s hard-fought 1-0 win over France. Their opposition, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Denmark in their opening match at the Kadrioru Stadium.
Italy and Montenegro have already faced each other this season at the very same Kalevi Central Stadium in Tallinn, during Group 1’s second matchday of the opening round of European qualifying. It was 4 October – exactly 236 days ago – when the Azzurrini were beaten 2-1 by Montenegro, a result that remains the only defeat suffered by Daniele Franceschini’s side throughout the qualification campaign.
“We know we’ll be facing a strong, physical and well-organised team,” warned the Italy coach, “one that fully deserved to reach this final stage after finishing top of both Round 1 [Group 1, held in Estonia from 1 to 7 October, ed.] and Round 2 [Group 3, held in Montenegro from 25 to 31 March, ed.]. We’ll try to play our game, performing as a team and aiming to control proceedings. Since the match in October [Italy 1-2 Montenegro on 4 October, ed.], both we and they have developed further: tomorrow will be a different story.”
This afternoon, Franceschini’s squad completed their final training session at the Estonian Football Association (EJL) TNTK training centre in Tallinn, fine-tuning preparations ahead of tomorrow’s clash at the Kalevi Central Stadium.
THE OPPOSITION. That victory over Italy marked one of the symbolic milestones in the development of Radovan Kavaja’s side, who qualified for the European Championship – and consequently the World Cup – for the first time in their history. Montenegro began building their qualification campaign in Estonia from 1 to 7 October, finishing top of Group 1 in Round 1 with seven points, ahead of Italy (six), Ukraine (four) and hosts Estonia (zero). Their form continued into Round 2, played on home soil between 25 and 31 March, where Kavaja’s side topped League A Group 3 with six points, level with Greece but ahead thanks to a 1-0 victory in the opening head-to-head clash on 25 March. Sweden and Norway finished behind them on four and one point respectively.
Among Montenegro’s most promising talents are 2009-born Blažo Đukić of Sutjeska and Petar Vujović of Podgorica, alongside 2010-born Luka Vušurović of Red Star Belgrade. It was Vujović and Vušurović who scored in Montenegro’s 2-1 win over Italy last October, with Thomas Corigliano netting Italy’s temporary equaliser.
There have been only two previous meetings between Italy and Montenegro at Under-17 level. In addition to last October’s clash in Tallinn, the Azzurrini – then coached by Carmine Nunziata, now head coach of the Italy Under-20 side and interim coach of the Under-21s for the upcoming friendly against Albania in Fontanafredda, near Pordenone – recorded a 3-0 victory over Montenegro on 24 October 2017 in Tbilisi, Georgia, during Matchday 1 of Group 13 in the opening qualifying round, thanks to goals from Angelo Ghislandi, Alessio Riccardi and Niccolò Fagioli.
UEFA European Under-17 Championship Estonia 2026 | Schedule
Group Stage (25 May – 1 June)
Group A: Estonia, Belgium, Croatia, Spain
Group B: Montenegro, France, ITALY, Denmark
Matchday 1
Monday 25 May
Croatia 0-2 Belgium
Estonia 1-4 Spain
Tuesday 26 May
ITALY 1-0 France
Montenegro 1-2 Denmark
Group A standings: Spain 3 (+3), Belgium 3 (+2), Croatia 0 (-2), Estonia 0 (-3)
Group B standings: Denmark 3 (+1), ITALY 3 (+1), Montenegro 0 (-1), France 0 (-1)
Matchday 2
Thursday 28 May
13:30 CEST: Belgium vs Spain, Rakvere Linnastaadion, Rakvere
18:00 CEST: Estonia vs Croatia, Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Friday 29 May
13:30 CEST: Montenegro vs ITALY, Kalevi Central Stadium, Tallinn
18:00 CEST: France vs Denmark, Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn
Matchday 3
Sunday 31 May
13:30 CEST: Belgium vs Estonia, Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
13:30 CEST: Spain vs Croatia, Rakvere Linnastaadion, Rakvere
Monday 1 June
13:30 CEST: France vs Montenegro, Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn
13:30 CEST: Denmark vs ITALY, Kalevi Central Stadium, Tallinn
Knockout Stage (4–7 June)
Semi-finals – Thursday 4 June
SF1 – 13:30 CEST: Group A winner vs Group B runner-up, Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
SF2 – 19:00 CEST: Group B winner vs Group A runner-up, Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn
Final – Sunday 7 June
19:00 CEST: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2, Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn