Qualification secured with a game to spare, despite the defeat. In Fano, Italy’s Under-19 national team was beaten 1-0 by Ukraine in their second match of Round 2 of European Championship qualifying. However, the result has no impact on the standings: even if Massimiliano Favo’s side lose their final match against Israel (Tuesday at 1:00 PM in Fermo, live on RaiSport), they are guaranteed to finish at least third, thanks to their head-to-head advantage over Romania, who remain on zero points and face Ukraine. Third place is enough to keep Italy in League A for the third and decisive qualifying round for the European Championship finals in Czechia (June 18th–July 1st).

FAVO “We paid for a mistake in possession,” the coach explained. “It was very difficult to play through the middle, which is why we tried to use the width more, but in any case, we weren't as dangerous as we're usually capable of being. We knew Ukraine were a very physical team, and their goal made things more difficult for us. Once they took the lead, they were able to sit deeper, defend in numbers and hit us on the counter, while we lacked cutting edge. We've already qualified, but naturally we want to finish the group with a win.”

THE MATCH Italy made four changes from their opening game, with Mambuku (suspended against Romania), De Paoli, Wiafe and Fogliaro coming into the starting lineup. The Azzurrini got off to a difficult start and fell behind after 19 minutes. Hlyut intercepted a pass from Natali and played the ball through to Diedov, who kept his composure to beat Anelli and score his third goal in two games, following his brace against Israel. Italy tried to respond but struggled against a well-organized opponent. In the 34th minute, Talko was called into action to save Steffanoni’s right-footed effort. Marini tried his luck shortly afterward, but his shot was also blocked by the Ukrainian goalkeeper. Just before halftime, Lontani sent a free kick narrowly wide.

Early in the second half, Lontani had another free-kick opportunity, which Talko did well to gather. Favo attempted to change things by bringing on Elimoghale and Arena and switching to a 4-2-4 formation, with Wiafe moving wider on the right. Italy took control and spent almost the entire second half in Ukraine’s half, but never seriously threatened Talko’s goal. Marello also came on for Marini late in the game, but it was Ukraine who had two good chances to double their lead. In the end, it was Luzhny’s side who celebrated, cheered on by the large Ukrainian community in Fano watching from the stands. Italy, meanwhile, are already focused on Tuesday’s match, aiming to finish Round 2 in the best possible position. They cannot finish first, as Ukraine hold the head-to-head advantage, but they cannot finish fourth either.

TICKETS Admission to all Round 2 matches will be free, with spectators required to present a named ticket, which can be downloaded from the Vivaticket portal.
Download your free ticket for Israel vs. Italy
Download your free ticket for Romania vs. Ukraine

MEDIA ACCREDITATION Journalists, photographers and camera operators wishing to cover the Under-19 European Championship Round 2 qualifying matches can apply for accreditation by sending an email with the subject line ‘Under-19 National Team Media Accreditation’ to press@figc.it and m.calabresi@guest.figc.it by 6:00 PM on the day before each match. Alternatively, applicants can send a single email covering all the matches for which they are requesting accreditation.

ITALY 0-1 UKRAINE (HT: 0-1)

ITALY (4-3-1-2): Anelli; Mambuku, De Paoli, Natali, Marini (Marello 40' 2H); Wiafe (Prisco 33' 2H), Ballanti, Steffanoni; Maccaroni (Elimoghale 10' 2H); Fogliaro (Arena 10' 2H), Lontani (Damiano 33' 2H). Subs: Maran, Bovio, Liberali, Borasio. Coach: Favo.

UKRAINE (4-3-3): Talko; Muradian, Sherstiuk, Ivaskiv, Kaliuzhnyi; Liusin, Sykut, Tkachenko; Hlyut (Bahrii 9' 2H), Diedov (Menshykov 38' 2H), Huram (Zubriy 9' 2H). Subs: Bahlai, Melnyk, Ohorodnik, Vepryk, Chornenkyi, Kutia. Coach: Luzhny.

Referee: Vernice (France). Assistant referees: Torregrossa (France), Cenolli (Albania). Fourth official: Lata (Albania).

Scorer: Diedov 19' 1H.

Disciplinary record: Booked: Lontani (I), Ivaskiv (U), Muradian (U), Marini (I), Elimoghale (I).

UEFA UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 2

League A – Group A6

Matchday 1 – Wednesday, November 11th
Ukraine 3-2 Israel
ITALY 2-0 Romania

Matchday 2 – Saturday, November 14th
Israel 2-1 Romania
ITALY 0-1 Ukraine

Standings: Ukraine 6, ITALY and Israel 3, Romania 0.

Matchday 3 – Tuesday, November 17th
1:00 PM: Israel vs. ITALY (Fermo), live on RaiSport
1:00 PM: Romania vs. Ukraine (Ancona)