It was a strong performance from the Italy Under-17 side, who beat Montenegro 3–0 at the Kalevi Central Stadium in Tallinn on matchday two of Group B in the European Championship finals, taking place in Estonia until 7 June.

Italy took the lead in the fifth minute through Venezia midfielder Francesco Ballarin, Juventus player Thomas Corigliano then doubled their advantage in the 26th minute, and it was Atalanta striker Marcello Fugazzola who sealed the result in the 87th minute.

With this result, Daniele Franceschini’s side temporarily move top of the group, having secured six points from two games, and have proven themselves following their defeat against Montenegro less than eight months ago (Italy 1–2 Montenegro on 4 October), also at the Kalevi Central Stadium, during the second matchday of Group 1 in the opening qualifying round of the European campaign.

The Azzurri coach explained, “We are pleased, both in terms of performance and results. It was a difficult match against a physical side that played direct football a lot, but we did well not to concede second balls or counterattacks, and we handled that very well. We managed to stay very compact thanks to the players’ efforts as they worked hard without the ball, and with luck also on our side, we’ve managed not to concede in these first two games.”

Italy will be back in action on Monday, 1 June (14:30 CEST), again at the Kalevi Central Stadium, against Denmark, who will take on France tonight at 20:00 CEST at the Kadrioru Stadium. Franceschini continued, “Our priority from today onwards is to recover energy, because we know Denmark are both a physical and technical side, with a strong attacking mentality and, at the moment, they seem to have no real weaknesses.”

THE MATCH

Italy lined up again in a 4-3-1-2, making four changes from the XI that beat the reigning European runners-up, France, 1–0 on matchday one on Tuesday. Donato and 2010-born Dattilo came in for Diallo and Albini in defence, Ballarin replaced Gasparello in midfield, and fellow 2010-born player Croci started up front in place of Casagrande. Montenegro set up in a 4-2-3-1, making two changes compared to the side that lost 2–1 to Denmark on matchday one three days earlier at the Kadrioru Stadium: Peković replaced Marković in defence, while Kljajević came in for Rakčević in midfield.

The Azzurrini started on the front foot and took the lead in the fifth minute through Ballarin, who, following a corner from the right, fired a strong left-footed shot through a busy area and into the top corner to make it 1–0. Spurred on by their goal, Franceschini’s side continued to push forward in search of a second, first through Perillo in the seventh minute and then with Croci in the twelth, but neither effort found the net. By the time the second goal came along in the 26th minute, it felt inevitable as Corigliano converted from close range with his left foot after a strong move down the right from Perillo. Montenegro looked to respond at the end of the first half, but Lupo, who turned 17th today, reacted brilliantly to deny Čukić’s close-range effort. Italy went into the break with a 2-0 advantage after just one minute of added time, as awarded by Welsh referee Tom Owen.

The second half got off to a similar start as the first, as the Azzurrin began with momentum and pressed Montenegro goalkeeper Sošić, who was forced to deny a dangerous right-footed effort from Croci in the 49th minute. Just a minute later, Perillo came close, latching onto a pass from Corigliano and narrowly missing the target. Italy continued to attack, and in the 60th minute, Landi, who had just come on, tested the Montenegrin defence with a curling right-footed shot, which was saved well by the visiting number 12. The Balkans then threatened in the 69th minute through Kljajević, but his close-range left-footed effort was spectacularly denied out by an incredible Lupo. Franceschini’s side remained in control and, in the 87th minute, sealed the 3–0 win: Rocca, who came on in the 81st minute for Okon-Engstler, burst down the left wing and squared for fellow substitute Fugazzola, who finished with his left foot to wrap up the scoring. After three minutes of added time, the final whistle confirmed another sensational victory for the Azzurrini, who move top of the group with a perfect record.

MONTENEGRO 0–3 ITALY (0–2 HT)

Montenegro (4-2-3-1): Sošić; Radomirović (46’ Marković), Uzunovski (46’ Nedić), Popović ©, Peković (68’ Krunić); Kljajević, Vujović (32’ Vušurović); Đokaj, Caušević, Čukić; Vukoje (46’ Đukić). Subs: Količević (GK), Marković, Rakčević, Šekularac, Sekulić. Head coach: Radovan Kavaja.

Italy (4-3-1-2): Lupo; Bonifazi (56’ Albini), Donato, Varali, Dattilo; Ballarin, Okon-Engstler (81’ Rocca), Biondini © (56’ Gasparello); Corigliano (56’ Landi); Perillo (71’ Fugazzola), Croci. Subs: Giaretta (GK), Diallo, Puricelli, Casagrande. Head coach: Daniele Franceschini.

Referee: Tom Owen (Wales)
Assistant referees: Lewiss Edwards (Wales), Nikola Borović (Serbia)
Fourth official: Márton Rúsz (Hungary)

Goals

5’ Ballarin (ITA), 26’ Corigliano (ITA), 87’ Fugazzola (ITA)

Booked: Uzunovski (MNE) 11’, Čukić (MNE) 33’, Kljajević (MNE) 67’, Okon-Engstler (ITA) 71’
Added time: 1’ first half, 3’ second half

 

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Emanuele Giaretta (Juventus FC), 12. Christian Lupo (US Lecce)

Defenders: Giampaolo Bonifazi (AS Roma), 3. Matteo Albini (Como 1907), 4. Djibril Diallo (Parma Calcio 1913), 5. Ludovico Varali (Parma Calcio 1913), 6. Andrea Donato (Inter Milan), 13. Lorenzo Dattilo (AS Roma), 14. Lorenzo Puricelli (Inter Milan), 20. Edoardo Dario Rocca (Inter Milan)

Midfielders: Edoardo Biondini (Empoli FC), 15. Gianluca Tommaso Okon-Engstler (Club Brugge KV), 16. Francesco Ballarin (Venezia FC), 17. Francesco Gasparello (Atalanta BC)

Forwards: Jacopo Landi (Empoli FC), 9. Diego Perillo (Empoli FC), 10. Thomas Corigliano (Juventus FC), 11. Marcello Fugazzola (Atalanta BC), 19. Tommaso Casagrande (Hellas Verona), 21. Federico Croci (ACF Fiorentina)

STAFF

Technical staff: Daniele Franceschini (head coach), Filippo Corti (team delegate), Daniele Zoratto (youth national teams vice coordinator), Marco Scarpa (assistant coach), Francesco Antonioli (goalkeeping coach), Roberto Ghielmetti (fitness coach), Francesco Donzella (match analyst), Francesco Cuccaro & Giorgio Liberati Petrucci (team doctors), Aldo Abbadia & Saverio Didonato (physiotherapists), Claudio Pecorella (nutritionist), Fabrizio Scarpelli (academic tutor), Claudio Gabetta (Club Italia scout), Andrea Ottaviani (administration, finance & control), Alessandro Paoli (press office), Guglielmo Cammino (team secretary).

 

UEFA European Under-17 Championship Estonia 2026 | Final tournament

Group stage (25 May – 1 June)

Group A

Estonia, Belgium, Croatia, Spain

Group B

Montenegro, France, Italy, Denmark

Matchday 1

Monday 25 May
Croatia 0–2 Belgium
Estonia 1–4 Spain

Tuesday 26 May
Italy 1–0 France
Montenegro 1–2 Denmark

Matchday 2

Thursday 28 May
Belgium 0–1 Spain
Estonia 1–3 Croatia

Friday 29 May
Montenegro 0–3 Italy
France vs Denmark (18:00, Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn)

Group standings

Group A: Spain 6, Belgium 3 (+1), Croatia 3 (0), Estonia 0
Group B: Italy 6, Denmark 3, France 0 (-1), Montenegro 0 (-4)

Matchday 3

Sunday 31 May
13:30 – Belgium vs Estonia (Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn)
13:30 – Spain vs Croatia (Rakvere Linnastaadion, Rakvere)

Monday 1 June
13:30 – France vs Montenegro (Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn)
13:30 – Denmark vs Italy (Kalevi Central Stadium, Tallinn)

Knockout stage (4–7 June)

Semi-finals (Thursday 4 June)

S1 – 13:30
Winner Group A vs Runner-up Group B
(Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn)

S2 – 19:00
Winner Group B vs Runner-up Group A
(Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn)

Final (Sunday 7 June)

19:00 – Winner S1 vs Winner S2
(Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn)