Italy and France face each other in Tallinn in the match valid for the first day of group B of the final phase of the European Under 17 championship
EUROPEAN UNDER 17 |
ELIMINATORY ROUND |
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| NETWORKS: |
| ITALY (4-3-1-2) – Wolf; Bonifazi, Diallo, Varali, Albini; Gasparello, Okon, Biondini (C); Corigliano; Casagrande, Perillo Annex: Daniele Franceschini |
| FRANCE (4-3-3) – Decrenisse; Chambon, Becker, Sylla, Gernigon; Munongo (C), Loufoundou, Amaaouch; Merrifield, Batola, Gadou Annex: José Alcocer |
| Referee: Alexandros Tsakalidis [GRE] |
| TO READ THE COMPLETE SCORE SCROLL SCROLL BELOW THE LIVE OF THE COMPETITION |
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ITALY CLOSE TO GOAL TWICE IN A FEW SECONDS!Decrenisse he is good at opposing Perillo (doer of a good deed) and, subsequently, it is the same Perillo to touch the crossbar with a delightful volley and running after a good assist from Corigliano
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THRILL FOR ITALY! The Italian goalkeeper Wolfin the throw-in phase with the ball in motion, takes a big risk by trying to tackle Gadou. The ball goes just wide from the left post
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A decidedly blue start, with Franceschini’s boys immediately pouring constantly into the French half of the pitch
THE RACE BEGINS. France, in their white kit, will move the first ball of the match. Italy on the pitch with the blue uniform
ITALY (4-3-1-2) – Wolf; Bonifazi, Diallo, Varali, Albini; Gasparello, Okon, Biondini (C); Corigliano; Casagrande, Perillo Annex: Daniele Franceschini
FRANCE (4-3-3) – Decrenisse; Chambon, Becker, Sylla, Gernigon; Munongo (C), Loufoundou, Amaaouch; Merrifield, Batola, Gadou Annex: José Alcocer
Italy has won this title twice: In the 1982 (when it was still reserved for under 16s, beating in the final in Falconara Marittima West Germany 1-0 with a goal from Macina) and in 2024 in Limassol (Cyprus) when Favo’s team prevailed in the final Portugal by 3-0 (goals by Coletta and brace by Camarda).
There Francehowever, already a finalist in 2023 and 2025, has won this title 3 times, the last one in 2022 beating i in the final Netherlands in the edition played in Israel
UPDATED RESULTS AND RANKINGS:
UEFA European Under-17 Championship Estonia 2026 | FINAL PHASE
Group stage (25 May to 1 June)
Group A: Estonia, Belgium, Croatia, Spain
Group B: Montenegro, France, ITALY, Denmark
1.30pm: ITALY-France, Kalevi Central Stadium in Tallinn
6pm: Montenegro-Denmark, Kadriorg Stadium in Tallinn
1.30pm: Belgium-Spain, Rakvere Linnastaadion of Rakvere
6pm: Estonia-Croatia, Lilleküla Stadium in Tallinn
1.30 pm: Montenegro-ITALYKalevi Central Stadium in Tallinn
6pm: France-Denmark, Kadriorg Stadium in Tallinn
1.30pm: Belgium-Estonia, Lilleküla Stadium in Tallinn
1.30 pm: Spain-Croatia, Rakvere Linnastaadion of Rakvere
1.30pm: France-Montenegro, Kadriorg Stadium in Tallinn
1.30pm: Denmark-ITALYKalevi Central Stadium in Tallinn
DIRECT ELIMINATION PHASE (from 4 to 7 June)
Semi-finals (Thursday 4 June)
S1) 1.30pm: Winning Group A-Second place Group BLilleküla Stadium in Tallinn
S2) 7pm: Winning Group B-Second place Group AKadriorg Stadium in Tallinn
Final (Sunday 7 June)
7pm: Winning S1-Winning S2Lilleküla Stadium in Tallinn
NB: the times indicated are expressed in CET (Central European Time)
| NETWORKS: |
| ITALY (4-3-1-2) – Wolf; Bonifazi, Diallo, Varali, Albini; Gasparello, Okon, Biondini (C); Corigliano; Casagrande, Perillo |
| Available: Giaretta (P), Donato, Landi, Fugazzola, Dattilo, Puricelli, Ballarin, Rocca, Croci |
| Trainer: Daniele FRANCESCHINI |
| FRANCE (4-3-3) – Decrenisse; Chambon, Becker, Sylla, Gernigon; Munongo (C), Loufoundou, Amaaouch; Merrifield, Batola, Gadou |
| Available: Mouapa (P), Kasia, Doganay, Dago, Addich, Diaby, Tiehi, Lemaître, Meite |
| Trainer: José ALCOCER |
| Referee: Alexandros Tsakalidis [GRE] |
| Ass.: Michael Papadakis [GRE] and Aleksandras Stepanovas [LTU] |
| 4th office: Ilioski Vlatko [MKD] |
The wait is over. Today, 1.30 pm, the National Under 17 team of coach Daniele Franceschini will make his debut in the final phase of the European Championship against France, the reigning vice champion, at the Kalevi Central Stadium in Tallinn, on the first day of Group B, which also includes Denmark and Montenegro.
The Azzurrini, after having undergone a preparatory stage at the Acqua Acetosa ‘Giulio Onesti’ Olympic Preparation Center from 19 to 22 May – culminating in a 3-0 friendly win against Roma of the same age – landed on Saturday evening in Tallinn, while on Sunday, in Saku, they had their first training session in view of the match against the French team.
“It will be exciting – underlines the coach Daniele Franceschini to the microphones of Vivo Azzurro TVwithin ‘Ready for the European Championship’ – and I think it is right that this is the case and that the kids live this experience to the full. Before they were qualifiers, but now we’re competing for a European title, because we are among the best eight in Europe.” Then a message to the team: “The objective is always the same. The kids have to go on the pitch and do what they do best in life: play football. At this point in the season, we simply need to strengthen our strengths and work on the motivational and human aspect. They know what they have to do both on and off the pitch, not forgetting that we are Italy and we have the duty to prove it to ourselves and to those who follow us.”
Words that capture well the climate within the blue group, which matured month after month during the qualification process. Empoli striker Diego Perillo knows this well, and sees this continental event as a long-awaited goal: “I’ve been thinking a lot about this European Championship since the beginning of the year – he confesses -. When I received the first call-ups I didn’t believe it. Instead, step by step, month after month, especially when we went from round 1 to round 2, I started to think I could get there. I’m convinced it will be a wonderful experience”.
In the group, then, there are also those who feel the ‘weight’ of the recent Italian tradition in the category. Parma defender Ludovico Varali looks to the past as a source of inspiration: “Compared to the beginning of the year, there is greater awareness on the part of the team and greater habit of playing together. This, in the relationship with teammates, is very noticeable. I remember that two years ago I saw all the European Championship matches (Cyprus 2024, ed.) and seeing them win the title was a unique emotion. To think that today I have the same opportunity that they had is incredible, because an opportunity like this cannot be taken for granted and it cannot be guaranteed to be repeated.”
Trust and sense of belonging also in the words of Roma defender Giampaolo Bonifazi: “Before leaving for Estonia, we gathered at the CPO, where we did a three-day internship, before facing my Roma teammates in a friendly (3-0 victory, ed.). We are keen to do well because, in the last two seasons, the 2007 team have won the title (Italy-Portugal 3-0 on 5 June 2024, ed.) and the 2008 players reached the semi-finals (Italy-Portugal 2-2, 5-6 straight away, 30 May 2025): we don’t want to be outdone”.
OPPONENT. José Alcocer’s France arrives at the final phase of the European Championship with the weight of an important history and the awareness of being one of the big favorites of the tournament. Les Bleus, reigning vice-champions, have already won the Under 17 continental title on three occasions – 2004, 2015 and 2022 – and the qualification process has also confirmed the quality of the transalpine selection.
In the first round, played at home from 8 to 14 October, the French finished Group 9 at the top with 7 points, ahead of Romania (5), Israel (4) and Azerbaijan, stuck at zero. The dominance in the second round was even clearer: from 25 to 31 March, in Slovenia, in Group A1 of League A, France made a clear progress with 9 points out of 9, leaving behind the Slovenian hosts and Germany, both with 4 points, as well as North Macedonia, last with zero points.
Among the most anticipated faces is Arone Gadou, striker born in 2009 for Stade de Reims and best scorer for Les Bleus with 5 goals in 6 appearances during the qualifiers.
On the other hand, there are 22 overall precedents between Italy and France in the category: the results are favorable to the French team with 12 successes against the 8 of the Azzurrini, as well as two draws. The first match dates back to 12 May 2009, when Italy won 2-1 in Taucha, Poland, on the last day of Group A of the final phase of the European Championship thanks to goals from Simone Dell’Agnello and Simone Sini, who made Neeskens Kebano’s French goal useless. The last match, however, is much more recent: last February 20th, in Coverciano, France won again 2-1 in a friendly with the signatures of Noha Kader Tiehi and Saïd Jessim Remadnia, while Gioele Giammattei scored for the Azzurrini.
GOALKEEPERS: 1. Emanuele Giaretta (Juventus), 12. Christian Lupo (Lecce);
DEFENDERS: 2. Giampaolo Bonifazi (Roma), 3. Matteo Albini (Como), 4. Djibril Diallo (Parma), 5. Ludovico Varali (Parma), 6. Andrea Donato (Inter), 13. Lorenzo Dattilo (Roma), 14. Lorenzo Puricelli (Inter), 20. Edoardo Dario Rocca (Inter);
MIDFIELDS: 8. Edoardo Biondini (Empoli), 15. Gianluca Tommaso Okon-Engstler (Club Brugge)16. Francesco Ballarin (Venice), 17. Francesco Gasparello (Atalanta);
ATTACKERS: 7. Jacopo Landi (Empoli), 9. Diego Perillo (Empoli), 10. Thomas Corigliano (Juventus), 11. Marcello Fugazzola (Atalanta), 19. Tommaso Casagrande (Hellas Verona), 21. Federico Croci (Fiorentina).
STAFF – Technician: Daniele Franceschini; Head of delegation: Filippo Corti; Deputy Coordinator of the Youth National Teams: Daniele Zoratto; Technical assistant: Marco Scarpa; Goalkeeping coach: Francesco Antonioli; Athletic trainer: Roberto Ghielmetti; Match analyst: Francesco Donzella; Doctors: Francesco Cuccaro and Giorgio Liberati Petrucci; Physiotherapists: Aldo Abbadia and Saverio Didonato; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; School tutor: Fabrizio Scarpelli; Club Italia Observer: Claudio Gabetta; Administration, finance and control office: Andrea Ottaviani; Press Office: Alessandro Paoli; Secretary: Guglielmo Cammino.
Champions League 2026-27 – The qualified teams. Inter top seed
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