The Italians are the European U19 football champions. They avenged their group defeat to Portugal in the final

Malta hosted the U19 European Football Championship this year. The final was played on Sunday evening at the largest stadium in Ta’Qali, where the teams of Italy and Portugal advanced to the final. The narrow victory gave the title to the national team from the Apennine Peninsula.

The two teams had already clashed in Group A. Back then, it was a clear-cut affair, with the Portuguese winning 5-1. Moreover, coach Alberto Bollini’s charges played the entire second half with ten men after Lipani was sent off.

Coach Joaquim Milheiro’s team won all three matches. On the other hand, the Italians still lost points with a draw with Poland, beating only the home Maltese. Despite this, they managed to advance from second place to the semi-finals of the eight-team final tournament.

They then beat Spain 3-2 in the battle for the final. The Portuguese scored another big win at this stage. They knocked out their opponents from Norway with a 5:0 victory. They were also considered favourites before the final match.

However, they faced a one-goal deficit from the 19th minute. Michael Kayode came to the fore with a precise header after Hasa’s centre. The Italian youngsters were the more active team in the first half.

At half-time, the Portuguese coaching staff tried to react by making two substitutions. Specifically, defender Martim Marques and midfielder Samuel Loureiro Carvalho Justo ended their participation in the match, replaced by Martim Fernandes and Diogo Prioste.

In the second half, the players representing the country from the west of the Iberian Peninsula dominated the possession and shot statistics. For example, the aforementioned Fernandes had a chance after an hour of play or Nabian, who also came on as a substitute.

However, goalkeeper Davide Mastrantoni, unlike his counterpart Gonçalo Ribeiro, did not let the ball go behind his back. After the final whistle of the German referee Sven Jablonski, he and his teammates were able to celebrate the European title.

Italy dominated the championship for the fourth time after 1958, 1966 and 2003, equalling the Portuguese in the historical table. They have triumphed at the 1961, 1994, 1999 and most recently in 2019.

The most successful football countries in this respect are Spain and England, whose teams have won a total of eleven championships. Domestic football has celebrated once, back in the Czechoslovakia era in 1968 in France. Next year’s edition will take place in Northern Ireland.

Source: UEFA, CT Sport