Win to break the ice: job done. At the ‘Matteo Valenti’ National Beach Soccer Stadium, Italy made the perfect start, defending their European title by beating Moldova 9-2 on their opening game. The result was never in doubt, with Alla and Bertacca both scoring twice, while Andriani, Sassari and Reggio also found the net, along with Creciun’s own goal. The victory puts the Azzurri top of the group on three points, two ahead of Germany, who beat Denmark on penalties (a shoot-out win is worth one point). Tomorrow, Sciacca and his team-mates will be back in action at 18:00 against Germany (live on RaiSport). Before that, at 16:45 CEST, the Azzurre will also begin their European Championship campaign against Poland (live on RaiPlay).

DEL DUCA. After the game, head coach Emiliano Del Duca said: “It was a game we always had under control, and we also tried different solutions to get the players’ legs moving. It was a good start to break the ice.” Tomorrow, the level will rise against a much stronger opponent, Germany: “They are a difficult team, and we have always played hard-fought games against them that have been decided right at the end. We need to stay focused and prepare as well as possible.”

THE MATCH. Del Duca started with Casapieri in goal, Josep as the playmaker and Giordani and Fazzini as the two attacking wingers supporting Andriani up front. The Azzurri immediately took control of the rhythm and broke the deadlock with the second quartet: Shalabi won a free-kick, which Alla converted with a perfect tap-in after the Moldovan defence failed to clear. A minute later, Bertacca came close to doubling the lead, but his right-footed effort clipped the top corner and went wide. The game remained one-sided and, in the seventh minute, a fine Giordani-Fazzini combination set up Andriani to make it 2-0 with a close-range header. Italy extended their lead again, with Bertacca scoring twice within 60 seconds to put Sciacca and his team-mates comfortably 4-0 ahead. Before the break, Moldova pulled one back through Stavila, leaving the Azzurri three goals clear after the opening twelve minutes. Three minutes into the second period, Sassari scored with his first touch of the ball. Moldova continued to put up a good fight and pulled another goal back through Creciun in the seventh minute, before Sassari came close twice more. His first effort struck the outside of the post, while his second, after a superb backheel from Sciacca, went just over the bar. In the final minute of the second period, Alla scored a spectacular volley to make it 6-2 and complete his brace, effectively ending Moldova’s hopes. The visitors were also unfortunate, as just 30 seconds later Creciun turned the ball into his own net to make it 7-2 heading into the final break.

With Italy 7-2 ahead, the final twelve minutes were all about seeing out the game. In the third minute, Fazzini scored with an overhead kick for the eighth goal, and three minutes later Federico Reggio, one of the two 2006-born players on the list alongside Sannibale, celebrated his first senior international goal. Set up by Andriani, he made it 9-2, which was the final score.

MOLDOVA 2-9 ITALY (first half 1-4; second half 1-3)
Moldova: Istrati, Turta, Sirghi, Damaschin, Creciun. Subs: Eremia, Paduret, Capsamun, Beselea, Gherganov, Ignat, Stavila. Head coach: Pernai
Italy: Casapieri, Josep Jr, Giordani, Fazzini, Andriani. Subs: Shalabi, Sannibale, Reggio, Sciacca, Barbagallo, Genovali, Bertacca, Alla, Sassari. Head coach: Del Duca
Goals: 4’Alla (I), 7’ Andriani (I), 9’ and 10’ Bertacca (I), 10’ Stavila (M); 3’second period Sassari (I), 7’ Creciun (M), 11’ Alla (I), 12’og Creciun (I); 3’ third period Fazzini (I), 6’ Reggio (I)
Referees: Tashkov (Bulgaria), Gebka (Poland), Galan Cayado (Spain), Minder (Switzerland); Timekeeper: Unterbeck (Germany)
Notes: Eremia booked (M)

EBSL Superfinal
Group A: ITALY, Denmark, Germany, Moldova
Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belarus, Switzerland

Group A fixtures
Matchday 1, Tuesday 8 September
Denmark 4-6 Germany (pens)
Moldova 2-9 ITALY

Standings after Matchday 1
Italy 3, Germany 1, Denmark and Moldova 0

Matchday 2, Wednesday 9 September
Denmark vs Moldova, 15:30 CEST
ITALY vs Germany, 18:00 CEST

Matchday 3, Friday 11 September
Germany vs Moldova, 11:30 CEST
ITALY vs Denmark, 18:00 CEST