Italy defeated Spain 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw, advancing to the UEFA U17 Championship final.
Italy, managed by the experienced Daniele Franceschini, started the game with a 4-3-1-2. There were no wingers in this mainly Italy-based starting lineup, except for Gianluca Okon, who played for Club NXT in Belgium. Spain, on the other hand, played with a traditional 4-3-3, with direct and 1v1 wingers and the talented Ebrima Tunkara in the number 10 role.
Italy struggled with their build-up against Spain’s 4-4-2 diamond defensive shape as they tried to find their centre forwards quickly, with Spain holding their defensive line. In the few moments they managed to get up the pitch, they targeted the channel between Spain’s left back and left centre back, scoring an offside goal in the process. In possession play, there was a 3-man overload on the wing to stretch Spain’s depth and width, and in the final third, they again targeted Spain’s left back with a far post cross.
In the battle of a 4-3-1-2 diamond vs a 4-3-3, Spain generated numerical superiority against Italy’s midfield 3, and found early success with wingers Abdou Kemo Badji and Christian Imga in 1v1 situations against the Italian full backs. This forced Daniele Franceschini to position the outside midfielder in deeper positions to double-team the dangerous Spanish wingers.
Ebrima Tunkara, the tournament’s outstanding player, created dangerous chances. First, his runs and cross from the right channel nearly led to a goal. Secondly, he found spaces in the right pocket, where the successful sequence of his pass to the left winger Christian Imga changed the speed and direction of the attack, with left back Jordi Pesquer making fast overlapping runs and crossing, posing danger on the left-hand side. In first half stoppage time, his run behind the defence for a long ball saw him 1v1 with the keeper but the poor first touch let him down.
The first penalty of the game came from Christian Imga, who made a run behind the Italian full back, nutmegged the defender and caused his opponent to panic and pull him down. However, the Italian goalkeeper Christian Lupo guessed the right way and saved the penalty at waist height.
Spain’s early success on the wing forced Franceschini to change the Italian defensive shape into a 4-4-2. The change in shape paid off: as the Italian centre backs won the ball in a higher block, the Italians transitioned quickly and one of these led to the penalty as the shot of Federico Croci hit the defender’s arm. The young centre forward slotted the ball past the keeper in the corner for 1-0.
Italy continued their tactical brilliance early in the 2nd half, with a 4-4-2 shape pressing Spanish left back Jordi Pesquer in possession and not allowing him space to run into. However, there was a tactical mistake in putting captain Edoardo Biondini from left wing to central midfield, as it allowed Spanish right back Raúl Expósito to bomb forward and combine with the substitute Rubén Gómez on the right. Spain also introduced substitute Cherif Fofana in the defensive midfield role. Though he did not close down Italy’s attacks on the right flank with substitute centre forward Tommaso Casagrande making intelligent movements to create space for his team to play, in the attacking sense, the Spanish often used combinations to find him as the free player in a 7v6 in which he was able to spread the play quickly.
The Spanish almost found a breakthrough when substitute Enzo Alves, son of former Real Madrid player Marcelo, was totally unmarked in the far post against Italian zonal defending in a corner, headed the ball into the ground and against the bar, with the Italian keeper making a fingertip save. The Spanish manager Sergio García made two more substitutions and it finally paid off 2 minutes later in the 77th minute. The right back Rubén Gómez overlapped, the Spanish attackers made double runs to attack the gaps and the cross found the substitute left back Mikel Urrestarazu who overloaded and arrived at the back post, headed the ball towards goal and after a goalmouth scramble, knocked the ball goalbound for 1-1.
The game finished 1-1 and was decided in penalties. Spain missed two penalties, as the Italian keeper Christian Lupo predicted correctly and saved shots that were savable to his side. The Italians, on the other hand, slotted all 4 of their kicks to the bottom right-hand corner, sending the nation to the final.
The players who stood out:
Ebrima Tunkara, Spain / Barca Atlètic, 2010, Attacking Midfield
Named player of the tournament, the attacking midfielder from Barcelona was first in assists (4) and key passes (23). He was a constant threat in the final third, finding pockets of space to receive, playing diagonal balls to the left winger, combining with other players and running in behind to cross. The Italian midfielders closed him down quickly in the 2nd half, which made him look uncomfortable driving the ball. At 16, he looked polished and mature. No wonder European clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus are interested in the player.
Christian Imga, Spain / Athletic Bilbao, 2009, Left Winger
The left winger from Bilbao had strength, speed and power to hold off the opponent, run in behind and cut inside to shoot. His combination with the overlapping left back also caused trouble for the Italian defence. His nutmeg and power earned his team the penalty, but his penalty was struck at a savable height. Substituted in the 65th minute.
