Silvio Baldini was right to put his faith in his players. Absolutely right. In the decisive match for qualification for the European Championship finals, Italy Under-21s produced a sensational performance. A 6-2 victory, courtesy of a Cher Ndour brace – including a goal from 70 metres – and strikes from Luca Koleosho, Luca Lipani, Seydou Fini and Luigi Cherubini saw the Azzurrini leapfrog Poland in the head-to-head standings. The two sides finished level on points in the group, but this result gave Italy the advantage in their direct meetings. Pescara roared the Azzurrini on from the first minute to the last, with 9,414 spectators in attendance at the Adriatico-Giovanni Cornacchia.

No calculations over the best runners-up, no play-offs: just celebrations at the final whistle and a direct ticket to Albania and Serbia, where the tournament will take place from 16 June to 3 July. The draw for the four groups of four teams will be held in Belgrade on 26 November.

MALAGÒ. “Qualifying for the European Championship and finishing top of the group with such a convincing result is a source of great satisfaction for the entire FIGC and Italian football,” said FIGC President Giovanni Malagò. “Congratulations to Silvio Baldini, his staff and all the players for the work they have done and for showing quality, character and a sense of belonging game after game. The Under-21s are a fundamental asset for our game and results like this confirm that we are building the future of the National Team with conviction.”

RANIERI. “My congratulations go to the team and staff, who thrilled the Pescara crowd in front of almost 10,000 people today,” said Claudio Ranieri, FIGC Technical Director and President of Club Italia, who was watching from the stands. “With Baldini on the bench, the Under-21 National Team have shown a clear identity and strong values, which have then been reflected on the pitch. This European qualifying campaign is a clear indication of how talent needs to be nurtured with time and trust: Italian football cannot overlook the development of future generations.”

BALDINI. “These are special, extraordinary players and they deserve this,” explained Baldini, who received exactly the kind of support he had hoped for from “his” Pescara. “They’ve spent 15 days behaving like top professionals and nobody has held anything back. Then, after winning the other night with a goal in the 95th minute, maybe it was fate: scoring that late winner helped them express themselves better tonight. I told them, ‘You’ll see, tonight you’ll discover Pescara, a place where there’s magic, where the people will carry you forward.’ They scored six goals. Who do I dedicate it to? My players. They’re simply wonderful.”

THE MATCH. Italy made a furious start. As Baldini had announced in his pre-match press conference, the Azzurrini lined up in a 4-3-3, with Liberali, Cisse and Koleosho forming the front three. Just over a minute had been played when Liberali crossed for Ndour, whose header forced Lubik into his first save of the match, before Bartesaghi fired wide with his left foot. Pisilli was next to threaten with a header, but once again the Polish goalkeeper responded brilliantly.

After 16 minutes of dominance, the breakthrough finally arrived. Liberali’s left-footed effort was only partially cleared by a Polish defender, and the ball fell to Koleosho, who fired it under the crossbar before immediately racing back to the halfway line to restart the game.

After conceding, Poland threatened Palmisani for the first time, but the Frosinone goalkeeper was equal to Urbanski’s right-footed effort. Italy doubled their lead in the 27th minute: Ndour headed home after being perfectly picked out by Liberali following a wonderful lifted pass from Koleosho. This time, the Fiorentina midfielder did celebrate, with a two-goal advantage enough to put Italy ahead in the head-to-head standings. The Azzurrini could even have gone into the break three goals up, but the post denied Liberali.

NDOUR STUNNER. Brzeczek made one change at the break, bringing former Parma player Mikolajevski on for Bak. However, after Mazurek had given Palmisani a scare, Ndour produced an extraordinary moment. Spotting Lubik off his line from 70 metres, he sent a magnificent effort sailing into the net to make it 3-0.

A fantastic Italy side added a fourth in the 60th minute, substitute Lipani firing home with his left foot from Koleosho’s assist. Poland responded with a brief show of defiance as Mikolajevski scored from Drachal’s delivery, but Italy restored their four-goal advantage almost immediately, Fini finding the net with a left-footed strike from inside the box.

The same pattern was repeated between the 86th and 87th minutes. Poland made it 5-2 through a superb Zewlakow goal, only for Italy to strike again from the very next attack through Cherubini. Poland had conceded only two goals in their previous nine group matches; against an irresistible Italy side, they shipped six in 90 minutes.

ITALY 6-2 POLAND (2-0 HT)

ITALY (4-3-3): Palmisani; Ahanor, Comuzzo, Chiarodia, Bartesaghi; Pisilli, Faticanti (Lipani 56’), Ndour; Liberali (Fini 56’), Cisse (Camarda 62’), Koleosho (Cherubini 81’). Subs not used: Daffara, Calvani, Berti, Moruzzi, Lulli. Head Coach: Baldini.

POLAND (4-2-3-1): Lubik; Krajewski, Monka, Ede, Gurgul; Kowalczyk (Duda 72’), Kocaba; Urbanski (Zewlakow 56’), Mazurek (Oyedele 66’), Pienko (Drachal 56’); Bak (Mikolajevski 46’). Subs not used: Zych, Drapinski, Matysik, Luberecki. Head Coach: Brzeczek.

REFEREE: Badstubner (Germany). Assistants: Waschitzki (Germany), Huwe (Germany). Fourth Official: Braun (Germany).

Goals: 16’ Koleosho (ITA), 26’ Ndour (ITA), 54’ Ndour (ITA), 60’ Lipani (ITA), 66’ Mikolajevski (POL), 67’ Fini (ITA), 86’ Zewlakow (POL), 87’ Cherubini (ITA).

Booked: Palmisani (ITA).