An incredible match. Italy beat the Brazilian powerhouse 3-2 in the opening match of the Under 20 World Cup being played in Mendoza, the 'Malvinas Argentinas' stadium packed to the rafters. A rare emotion: 35,000 Argentine spectators cheering for Italy throughout the match, mobile phone lights on and chants for the Azzurrini, practically a home game. A perfect first half: Italy were organised, playing their game and slowly gaining the upper hand until Prati scored, followed by Casadei's double: 3-0. In the second half, the Azzurrini did not break down and continued to be in control of the pitch. Brazil's goal arrived rather fortuitously, but it gave new energy to the Green and gold, who also scored the second goal. Despite the fatigue, the Azzurri held their own and managed to bring home an important and historic result: an Azzurri team has not beaten the Brazilians since 1982. Nunziata was happy at the end of the match: "It was important to win this match, because the first one is fundamental not only for the standings, but to give morale to the group and make them confident in their ability. The guys were fantastic, everyone, no one excluded. A great group".

The Azzurri coach fielded the 4-3-1-2, with the defensive line formed by Zanotti on the right, Ghilardi and Guarino in the middle, Turicchia on the left; Faticanti in front of the defence, Prati and Casadei in the middle; Baldanzi as the high point of the diamond, Pafundi on the right and Esposito on the left. No apprehension, the Azzurrini countered the first Brazilian attacks, kept good spacing and dribbled excellently. The first chance was for Italy in the 6th minute with a free kick awarded by the referee on the edge of the Brazilian box: Casadei took the shot, which went just over the crossbar. At 12' the advantage came for Italy. An action that started from Greenoro carelessness, Pafundi recovered the ball and played in Turicchia, who put it in the middle of the area for the head of Casadei, his deflection reached Prati who did not think twice and put the ball under the crossbar. The second goal came in the 28th minute when Baldanzi whipped in a corner kick and set up Casadei, who headed the ball into the net. The third goal came in the 33rd minute: Baldanzi started from the midfield, and with a sprint to get into the box, he fed Casadei who was brought down by Marlon Gomes, the Mexican referee Ortiz Nava had no doubts, penalty: the Reading midfielder took care of it, who half-heartedly, on the left, thumped it past Mycael.

It went to half time and, in the second half, the first chance was for Baldanzi who, just inside the area, didn't put enough curl on the ball and had his shot parried. Italy held, but in the 72nd minute, Brazil scored after replacing Guarino, who had a slight limp, with Fontanarosa: a cross from the left into the Azzurri box, Fontanarosa and Casadei collided to clear, the ball remained in the box and was kicked awkwardly by a Brazilian, Marcos Leonardo took advantage and scored against Desplanches, who had made two saves just before. The Greenoros took the spirit and continued their onslaught, which materialised once again with Marcos Leonardo: a cross from the right and the Brazilian striker's header hit the right corner to Desplanches' left. But the match ended there and the road to qualification for the round of 16 was well underway.

The other match in group D ended with a narrow victory (2-1) by Nigeria over the Dominican Republic. The Africans will be Italy's next opponents on Wednesday.

Italy 3-2 Brazil

Prati 11’, Casadei 28’ and 35’ (P), Marcos Leonardo 72’ and 87’

Italy: Desplanches, Zanotti, Ghilardi, Guarino (Fontanarosa 71’), Turicchia; Prati, Faticanti, Casadei (C); Pafundi (Montevago 75’), Baldanzi (Giovane 93’) Esposito (Lipani 75’). Coach: Nunziata. Subs: Zacchi, Sassi, Pisilli, Ambrosino, Fiumanò, Degli Innocenti.

Brazil: Mycael, Arthur, Jan Pedroso, Renan, Andrey Santos (C), Kaiki (Andre Dhominique 86’), Giovani (Savio 46’), Marlon Gomes (Nascimento 64’), Marcos Leonardo, Matheus Martins (Marquinhos 46’), Guilherme Biro (Kevin 64’). Coach: Ramon. Subs: Kaike, , Ronald, Giovane, Santos, Mendes.

Referee: Ortiz Nava (MEX); Assistants: Bustos (MEX) and Sanchez (MEX); 4th assistant, Lopez Castellanos; VAR, Escobedo Adonal (MEX)

Bookings: Andrey 19’, Zanotti 66’, Nascimento 73’, Ghilardi 85’

Squad List

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Trento); Jacopo Sassi (Giugliano Calcio), Gioele Zacchi (Sassuolo);

Defenders: Filippo Fiumanò (Aquila Montevarchi); Alessandro Fontanarosa (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Mantova), Samuel Giovane (Ascoli), Gabriele Guarino (Empoli), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (Inter);

Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Cesare Casadei (Reading F.C.), Duccio Degli Innocenti (Empoli), Giacomo Faticanti (Roma), Luca Lipani (Genoa), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Matteo Prati (SPAL);

Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino Di Bruttopilo (Cittadella), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Daniele Montevago (Sampdoria), Simone Pafundi (Udinese).

Staff - Head of Delegation, Marcello Nicchi; Manager: Gianfranco Serioli ; Assistant Head Coach, Emanuele Filippini; Fitness Coach, Vito Azzone; Goalkeeping Coach, Fabrizio Ferron; Match Analyst, Marco Mannucci; Observer, Claudio Coppi; Doctors, Carmelo Papotto and Lorenzo Ticca; Physiotherapist, Giuseppe Galli and Tommaso Cannata; Nutritionist, Alessio Colli; Secretary, Aldo Blessich; Press Officer, Giuseppe Ingrati; Administration, Francesco Casella; Club Italia, Matteo Galdelli; Logistics, Carlo Fanano.

Groups and Cities

Group A: Argentina, Uzbekistan, Guatemala, New Zealand (Santiago del Estero);

Group B: Usa, Ecuador, Fiji, Slovakia (San Juan);

Group C: Senegal, Japan, Israel, Colombia (La Plata);

Group D: ITALY, Brazil, Nigeria, Dominican Republic (Mendoza);

Group E: Uruguay, Iraq, England, Tunisia (La Plata);

Group F: France, South Korea, Gambia, Honduras (Mendoza).

Group D schedule and standings

Sunday 21 May

Nigeria 2-1 Dominican Republic
ITALY 3-2 Brazil

Standings: Italy and Nigeria 3pt, Brazil and Dominican Republic 0

Wednesday 24 May
ITALY vs. Nigeria at 15:00 local time (20:00 CEST, live on Rai Sport), Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
Brazil vs. Dominican Republic, alle 18 locali, Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza

Saturday 27 May
Brazil vs. Nigeria at 15:00 local time, La Plata
Dominican Republic vs. ITALY at 15:00 local time (20:00 CEST, live on Rai Sport), Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza

DOWNLOAD THE FULL SCHEDULE HERE

History

(number of Under-20 World Cups won)

Argentina (six), Brazil (five), Portugal (two), Serbia (two), Ghana (one) Spain (one), Russia (one), Germany (one), England (one), France (one), Ukraine (one, current champions).