Alberto Bollini's Italy Under-19 side were held to a goalless draw by Croatia, three days after their UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2-0 opening victory over Serbia. The match at The Oval in Caernarfon ended 0-0, the same scoreline as the friendly between the two sides in Koprivnica on 3 September. Pending the result of Serbia vs. Ukraine (kick-off at 19:00 CEST in Bangor), Italy remain temporarily top of Group B on four points.

"It was a difficult match," said Bollini. "We were up against a side that knocked France out in the Elite Round (Group 3) by merit and had lost only one of their previous 13 matches, against Ukraine three days ago (Croatia 1-3 Ukraine on 29 June. It wasn't easy tactically either, but the boys did well to stay balanced and focused while doing everything they could to win. When you can't win, the important thing is not to lose. The team performed well."

The Azzurrini return to action on Sunday, 5 July at 17:00 CEST to face Ukraine at Bangor City Stadium. Ukraine take on Serbia later this evening at 19:00 CEST, also at Bangor City Stadium.

“This is a demanding period,” Bollini added. “Managing 90 minutes isn’t easy, especially for some players still working their way back to full fitness. We need to keep building our fitness, stay calm, and be ready. This is an important result because the team showed togetherness and strength. That's what we'll build on."

MATCH REPORT

Italy lined up in the same 4-3-3 formation that earned a 2-0 win over Serbia on Monday, with just one change to the starting XI. Samuel Wiafe, born in 2008 and making his Italy Under-19 debut, replaced Christian Comotto in the front three, with Federico Coletta dropping into midfield.

Croatia also stuck with the 4-4-2 system used in their 3-1 defeat to Ukraine on Matchday One, making three changes. Kostopeč replaced Grahovac in goal, while Kusanović and Baković came in for Chelfi and Barić, the latter having scored Croatia's opening goal against Ukraine.

Italy started on the front foot and created the first chance after just three minutes, with Jamal Iddrissou heading Federico Coletta's cross wide. Coletta continued to be Italy's main creative threat, first picking out Mattia Mosconi, who fired over in the 14th minute, before trying his luck from distance two minutes later. In the 19th minute, Coletta delivered another inviting cross for Wiafe, whose header also cleared the bar.

Croatia threatened mainly through Patrice Čović, whose left-footed effort from 20 metres was comfortably saved by Massimo Pessina in the 21st minute. Before the break, Italy had further efforts through Emanuele Sala and Federico Nardin, but neither tested the Croatian defence. After one minute of added time, referee Joey Kooij of the Netherlands brought the first half to a close at 0-0.

Italy increased the tempo after the break and almost broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half when Matteo Cocchi fired just wide from the edge of the box. The Azzurrini continued to press and came closest to scoring in the 50th minute. Nardin crossed from the right, and Mosconi's diving header flashed just wide of the far post, momentarily giving the impression it had gone in. The Azzurrini remained dominant and threatened again in the 67th minute when Wiafe headed over from Mattia Marello's cross. Moments later, following a long-range effort from substitute Comotto, the Azzurrini came close again as Iddrissou met another excellent Marello delivery from a free-kick, only to be denied by an alert Kostopeč. Croatia's only real chance of the second half came in the second minute of stoppage time, when substitute Šimić's close-range effort was kept out by Pessina, preserving a deserved clean sheet and a 0-0 draw.

CROATIA 0-0 ITALY

Croatia (4-4-2): Kostopeč; Mikić, Zebić (C), Puljić, Mandić; Smiljanić (83' Chelfi), Subotić (83' Zrilić), Čović, Šutalo; Kusanović (72' Barić), Baković (72' Šimić).
Substitutes: Grahovac (GK), Kolarik, Kostelac, Gabrić, Godec.
Head Coach: Siniša Oreščanin.

Italy (4-3-3): Pessina; Nardin, Natali, Verde, Cocchi (65' Marello); Liberali (65' Comotto), Sala (C), Coletta; Wiafe (90+2' Idele), Iddrissou, Mosconi (82' Arena).
Substitutes: Vannucchi (GK), De Paoli, Mantini, Elimoghale, Rizzo.
Head Coach: Alberto Bollini.

Referee: Joey Kooij (Netherlands).
Assistant Referees: Murat Kücükerbir (Netherlands), Christian Gittelmann (Germany).
Fourth Official: Aaron Wyn Jones (Wales).

Goal Scorers: None.

Added time: 1' first half, 2' second half.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: 1. Tommaso Vannucchi (Cosenza), 22. Massimo Pessina (Bologna);

Defenders: 3. Matteo Cocchi (Inter), 4. Federico Nardin (Roma), 5. Andrea Natali (AZ Alkmaar), 6. Cristiano De Paoli (Como), 13. Francesco Verde (Juventus), 19. Mattia Marello (Inter), 21. Niccolò Rizzo (Juventus);

Midfielders: 7. Federico Coletta (Benfica), 8. Emanuele Sala (Milan), 10. Mattia Liberali (Catanzaro), 14. Christian Comotto (Spezia), 15. Samuel Wiafe (Modena), 16. Matteo Mantini (Grasshopper);

Forwards: 2. Javison Osarumwense Idele (Atalanta), 9. Jamal Iddrissou (Inter), 11. Mattia Mosconi (Inter), 17. Destiny Onoguekhan Elimoghale (Juventus), 20. Antonio Arena (Roma).

Staff – Head Coach: Alberto Bollini; Head of Delegation: Gianfranco Serioli; Youth National Teams Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant Coach: Christian Maggio; Goalkeeping Coach: Graziano Vinti; Fitness Coach: Nicolò Varesco; Match Analyst: Luca Dalmasso; Team Doctors: Andrea De Fazio and Francesco Maria Nifosì; Nutritionist: Dennis Dell'Unto; Physiotherapists: Giuseppe Galli and Simone Siciliano; Club Italia Scout: Alessandro Musicco; Administration, Finance and Control: Antonio Martuscelli; Press Officer: Alessandro Paoli; Team Secretary: Aldo Blessich.

UEFA European Under-19 Championship Wales 2026 | Final Tournament

Group Stage (28 June–5 July)

Group A: Wales, Denmark, Germany, Spain
Group B: Croatia, Serbia, ITALY, Ukraine

Matchday One

Sunday 28 June

Wales 0-7 Spain
Germany 4-3 Denmark

Monday 29 June

ITALY 2-0 Serbia
Croatia 1-3 Ukraine

Matchday Two

Wednesday 1 July

Denmark 0-3 Spain
Wales 0-4 Germany

Group A standings: Spain* 6 (+10), Germany* 6 (+5), Denmark 0 (-4), Wales 0 (-11).

*Qualified for the semi-finals with one match to spare.

Thursday 2 July

Croatia 0-0 ITALY
19:00 – Serbia vs. Ukraine, Bangor City Stadium, Bangor

Group B standings: ITALY 4, Ukraine 3, Croatia 1, Serbia 0.

Matchday Three

Saturday 4 July

15:00 – Denmark vs. Wales, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
15:00 – Spain vs. Germany, Central Park, Denbigh

Sunday 5 July

17:00 – Ukraine vs. ITALY, Bangor City Stadium, Bangor
17:00 – Serbia vs. Croatia, The Oval, Caernarfon

Knockout Stage (8–11 July)

FIFA U-20 World Cup Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan 2027 Play-Off (Wednesday 8 July)

15:00 – Third-placed Team in Group A vs. Third-placed Team in Group B, Bangor City Stadium, Bangor

Semi-finals (Wednesday 8 July)

SF1 – 17:30: Group A winners vs. Group B runners-up, Central Park, Denbigh

SF2 – 20:00: Group B winners vs. Group A runners-up, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Final (Saturday 11 July)

20:00 – Winners of SF1 vs. Winners of SF2, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

NB: All kick-off times are in CEST (Central European Summer Time).