PHOTO
SALON-DE-PROVENCE, FRANCE - JUNE 12: Antonio Raimondo of Italy U21 (left) celebrates with his team-mate Edoardo Pieragnolo after scoring a goal during the 50th Tournoi Maurice Revello match between Italy U21 and Indonesia U20 at Stade Marcel Roustan on June 12, 2024 in Salon-de-Provence, France. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
After a 1-0 win over Indonesia thanks to Antonio Raimondo 's solitary goal - his third of the tournament - the National Under 21 team have finished in second place in Group B of the Tournoi Maurice Revello. In Salon, Carmine Nunziata's team earned their second victory in the competition in regular time (the first came in their opener against Japan), giving themselves the chance of playing for a spot on the podium on Sunday (14:30 CEST) against the hosts,France, who finished second in Group A; Ivory Coast and Ukraine will compete for the trophy.
"The positive thing is that after three games we haven't conceded a goal," analysed Nunziata. "As regards the performance, however, there are lots of areas to improve on because we're currently struggling on a psycho-physical level. Against France, we won't be able to play in this manner, without intensity. It will be a tough match and we will have to recover physically, but above all mentally where we are struggling, we're making too many errors on a technical level."
THE MATCH. With Ndour (personal reasons) and Kouda (unavailable) leaving France after the match against Panama, Nunziata, following three games with a four-man defence, switched to three at the back, with Bertola, Ghilardi and Fontanarosa centrally, and Zanotti and Pieragnolo outside of them. Up front, Raimondo was supported by Pisilli and Volpato. Italy came close to taking the lead through Faticanti's right-footed shot, which went over the crossbar. But they eventually found it through Raimondo in the 38th minute: receiving the ball in the box vrom Pisilli, the Ternana striker spun and hit a low shot into the far corner across Giffari to give him no chance. Raimondo, shortly afterwards, attempted a back heel, but it was saved by the Indonesian number 1.
In the second half, after a right-footed shot from Roma's Pisilli that looked like it had gone in (hitting the outside of the net), it was Raimondo again, in the 65 minute, that threatened, making Al Giffari work with a right-footed shot across goal. In the 70th and 71st minute, after Nunziata had made the first two changes in the 60th minute with Turicchia and Veroli coming on, two efforts went over: first, by Zuccon and then by Raimondo. Italy, with Cerri, Esposito and Tongya on the field for the final stages, failed to double their lead, but never risked conceding a draw either. The Azzurrini end Group B with eight points, following two victories in 90 minutes and one on penalties. The last act against the hosts is on Sunday.
ITALY 1-0 INDONESIA (h.t. 1-0)
ITALY (3-4-2-1): Rinaldi; Bertola, Ghilardi, Fontanarosa; Zanotti, Zuccon (71' Cerri), Faticanti (60' Turicchia), Pieragnolo (60' Veroli); Pisilli (84' Tongya), Volpato (71' Esposito); Raimondo. Unused subs: Zacchi, Sassi, Bonfanti, Dalle Mura, Hasa, Fini. Coach: Nunziata
INDONESIA (5-2-3): Al Giffari; Hidayat (46' Geypens), Razak, Priyatna, Oman, Pamungkas; Firmansyah (60' Ji), Saputrananto (60' Jardim); Arlyansyah (89' Kamuru), Purwanto (69' Raven), Mauresmo. Unused subs: Ramadhan, Gwijangge, Markx, Murari, Yvel, Valentino, Afrisal, Iskandar, Rustam, Ragil. Coach: Sjafri Ata
Scorer: 38' Raimondo
Referee: Hamilton (Jamaica). Assistants: Yee Sing (Jamaica), Rensch (Suriname). Fourth official: Marcotte (Canada)
Bookings: Bertola (IT), Purwanto (IN), Fontanarosa (IT), Pieragnolo (IT), Ghilardi (IT)
TOURNOI MAURICE REVELLO
Gruppo A: Saudi Arabia, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Mexico, South Korea
Gruppo B: Ukraine, Indonesia, Itay, Japan, Panama
GROUP B CALENDAR
Matchday 1 - Tuesday 4 June (Vitrolles)
ITALY 4-3 Japan
Indonesia 0-3 Ukraine
No game for Panama
Matchday 2 - Thursday 6 June (Aubagne)
Ukraine 4-0 ITALY
Indonesia 0-4 Panama
No game for Japan
Matchday 3 - Saturday 8 June (Fos)
Japan 4-1 Indonesia
Ukraine 2-0 Panama
No game for ITALY
Matchday 4 - Monday 10 June (Aubagne)
14:30 CEST - Ukraine 2-1 Japan
18:15 CEST - ITALY 2-2 Panama (4-1 on penalties)
No game for Indonesia
Matchday 5 - Wednesday 12 June (Salon)
Japan 1-0 Panama
ITALY 1-0 Indonesia
No game for Ukraine
Standings: Ukraine 12, ITALY 8, Japan 6, Panama 4, Indonesia 0
GROUP A CALENDAR
Matchday 1 – Monday 3 June (Vitrolles)
South Korea 0-2 Saudi Arabia
France 0-2 Côte d'Ivoire
No game for Mexico
Matchday 2 - Wednesday 5 June (Fos-sur-Mer)
Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 South Korea
Mexico 2-2 France
No game for Saudi Arabia
Matchday 3 - Friday 7 June (Aubagne)
Mexico 3-2 Saudi Arabia
France 1-0 South Korea
No game for Côte d'Ivoire
Matchday 4 - Sunday 9 June (Aubagne)
Côte d'Ivoire 4-1 Mexico
France 4-0 Saudi Arabia
No game for South Korea
Matchday 5 - Tuesday 11 June (Fos-sur-Mer)
South Korea 3-5 Mexico (on pens)
Côte d'Ivoire 0-1 Saudi Arabia
No game for France
Standings: Côte d'Ivoire 9, France and Mexico 7, Saudi Arabia 6, South Korea 1
Finals
Friday 14 June
14:00 CEST - 9th-10th place (Arles)
18:00 CEST - 7th-8th place (Arles)
17:00 CEST - 5th-6th place (Mallemort)
Sunday 16 June
14:30 CEST - 3rd-4th place (Salon)
18:15 CEST - 1st-2nd place (Salon)