The age difference being the main theme of this competition was well known. Head coach Daniele Franceschini was well aware of it, as were his players, who, with an average age of 16.9, are the youngest team in the football tournament at the 2026 Mediterranean Games. After drawing with Albania, Italy were beaten by Algeria, who fielded five players born in 2005, another five born in 2007 and one born in 2006, compared with Italy's nine players born in 2009 and two born in 2010. The Azzurrini fell to a 3-1 defeat at the 'Fanuzzi' in Brindisi. Following Albania's simultaneous victory over Kosovo, Italy will need a win on Wednesday at 21:00, in the opening match at the 'Iacovone', which has been fully refurbished following the Games' opening ceremony, to reach the semi-finals. Algeria currently lead the group with six points, followed by Albania on four, Italy on one and bottom side Kosovo.

FRANCESCHINI. After the match, head coach Daniele Franceschini commented: "The first half was difficult, partly because of the quality of the opposition. Having made so many changes compared with the match in Lecce, it wasn't easy to find the right balance. In the second half, however, we put them under pressure. The team showed character, responded well and produced some good attacking moves. I congratulated the players because I was interested in seeing their mentality and performance. We put in a high-level performance. I congratulated the lads: it was physically demanding against much more experienced players. They showed that they can hold their own on the pitch, and that's what mattered to me." And on the 2,500 spectators at the 'Fanuzzi', the Head Coach added: "We'd like to thank the people, the children and all the fans who came to support us. It's great when there's such a strong turnout. I think they appreciated the effort the players put in, and these are important experiences for them too, because they may not yet be used to playing in front of such crowds. We'll try to recover our energy and give our best in the match in Taranto."

THE MATCH. Franceschini made a few changes from the match against Albania: Sonzogni started in goal in place of Lupo, while Guaglianone and Landi played in support of Perillo up front. Algeria made the better start and, in the 4th minute, Gaffurini did well to block Tarzout's powerful right-footed effort. The opening 20 minutes were difficult for Italy, whose only threat came from a wide effort by Perillo before Akhrib punished Sonzogni following a high regain on the edge of the penalty area to make it 1-0. After weathering the difficult spell and using the cooling break to regroup, Italy began to come out of their shell and show some personality. In the 27th minute, Landi found space out wide and tried his luck with his left foot, but El Koubi did well to turn the effort behind for a corner. Algeria used their greater physicality to good effect, although Franceschini's side had quality and began to threaten. In the 40th minute, a brilliant pass from Guaglianone allowed Perillo to hold off the defender and receive the ball in behind, but his right-footed effort while falling went narrowly over the crossbar. It was Italy's best chance of the first half.

SECOND HALF. Franceschini immediately introduced Giammattei for Rocca and Casagrande for Guaglianone at the start of the second half. Italy looked to respond blow for blow and created the first chance, with Perillo's header comfortably saved by El Koubi. Algeria, meanwhile, caused danger whenever they attacked: in the 55th minute, a huge triple chance forced Sonzogni into a series of saves to keep Italy in the game. In the 62nd minute, Italy created the biggest opportunity of the match. Giammattei caused havoc down the right before sending a ball across the box that Perillo could not reach; Landi then raced onto the loose ball and had the chance to equalise, but El Koubi produced an outstanding save. Franceschini then brought on Corigliano for Landi, and Italy equalised shortly afterwards: Casagrande produced a fine burst of pace before firing a dangerous ball across the box, with Naim unfortunately turning it into his own net to make it 1-1. The goal changed the momentum of the game, with the Azzurrini looking fresher while Algeria appeared to be struggling for the first time. Corigliano caused further problems and his curling left-footed effort was kept out by El Koubi. Algeria, however, regained the lead when Kohili produced a superb curling effort to make it 2-1. With 10 minutes remaining, Franceschini's side pushed forward but left themselves vulnerable to the counter-attack. After Kohili missed a golden opportunity, Bouderbala sealed the victory on the break three minutes from time.

ITALY 1-3 ALGERIA (HT 0-1)
Italy (4-3-1-2): Sonzogni; Dattilo (Rigo 29'), Gaffurini, Diallo, Albini; Baffoh, Ballarin (Olivieri 37'), Rocca (Giammattei 46'); Guaglianone (Casagrande 46'); Landi (Corigliano 20'), Perillo. Subs: Donato, Lupo. Coach: Franceschini
Algeria (4-3-3): El Koubi; Belgourai, Naim, Mehdid, Elkouacheur (Kourdi 33'); Kelalech (Abdelaziz 70'), Bouziani, Izem (Satta 33'); Kohili, Tarzout (Bouderbala 33'), Akhrib (Anatouf 36'). Sub: Zitouni. Coach: Hemdani
Goals: 19' Akhrib (A), 21' Naim own goal (I), 35' Kohili (A), 43' Bouderbala (A)
Referee: Ristov (North Macedonia); Assistants: Soklevska (North Macedonia), Cvetanovikj (North Macedonia); Fourth official: Koci (Albania)
Notes: Booked: Belgourai (A), Gaffurini (I), Baffoh (I), Kourdi (A), Kohili (A), Sonzogni (I), Olivieri (I), Dattilo (I). Attendance: 2,500.


Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games
Men's Football Tournament

Group A: Morocco, Türkiye, Tunisia, North Macedonia
Group B: ITALY, Algeria, Kosovo, Albania

Group B matches
Matchday One, Saturday 22 August
Algeria 2-1 Kosovo
ITALY 1-1 Albania 

Matchday Two, Monday 24 August
Albania 3-1 Kosovo
ITALY 1-3 Algeria 


Group B standings after Matchday Two
Algeria 6, Albania 4, Italy 1, Kosovo 0


Matchday Three, Wednesday 26 August
Algeria-Albania, 21:00 CEST | Francavilla Fontana
Kosovo-ITALY, 21:00 CEST | Taranto

Semi-finals, Friday 28 August | Taranto
SF1) Group A winners-Group B runners-up, 10:30
SF2) Group B winners-Group A runners-up, 21:00

Finals, Sunday 30 August | Taranto
3rd place: SF1 losers-SF2 losers, 10:00
Final: SF1 winners-SF2 winners, 19:00