In Catania a goal from Atalanta’s Idele gave victory to Bollini’s team. Elite phase draw on 10 December
The Under 19 national team had two results available to overcome the first qualifying phase for the European Championship, they chose the best. After the mockery against Bosnia (23 shots and two crossbars, but on Saturday it ended 0-0), in Catania a goal from Atalanta’s Javison Idele gave Bollini’s team a 1-0 win over Poland, who had won the first two matches of the group and would have finished in first place with a draw. A deserved result which enhances a group which began six days ago with the 8-0 defeat of Moldova: three games, seven points and no goals conceded are a good haul for a group that was formed at the beginning of last week, given that in the October friendlies against Scotland there were no eight players of Under 19 age called up for the Under 20 World Cup in Chile. Now the appointment is 10 December for the draw for the Elite phase, for which the top two of each group and the best third for a total of 27 teams (and Spain, first in the ranking, will also be added): thus seven further groups of four will be formed, with the first of each group reaching Wales (host country) in the final phase.
WINNING RIGHT RIGHT
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In front of Massimino’s 2,000 (among them also the president of Catania, Rosario Pelligra), Bollini changes four starters compared to the match against Bosnia: Nardin, Leandri, Liberali and Mantini on from the 1st minute, but the winning move is to lift Idele (who had played full-back last Saturday) by about twenty metres, a bit of an attacking winger and a bit of a midfielder. The constant changes of position with the Liberals disoriented Poland, even if Italy failed to create any real opportunities in the first half, while the Poles showed up in Nunziante’s area with a high left foot from Ksiazek. The match heated up in the second half, first with Liberali’s post from outside the area (Sala’s tap in), then with Idele’s goal, served with a cross from the left by Cacciamani (who had just entered). In the final, Italy trembled with a badly hit ball in the area by Przyborek, but then discovered in the locker room that they would have gone through even if they lost, given Moldova’s 1-0 win over Bosnia at the same time. In any case, first courses are always better than second courses.