One year on from last year’s final, Italy will meet the Netherlands once again as they look to be crowned European champions. The match is set to kick off at 17:30 CEST at the Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. In England last May, Brian Brobbey’s goal eight minutes from time made it 2-2 and sent the game to penalties, from which the Oranje emerged victorious. “It was a fantastic European Championship played by a wonderful group,” remembers Head Coach Carmine Nunziata. “There really wasn’t much missing from us claiming the title. But this is where the beauty of football lies: there’s an opportunity to play games that you’ve played before, and you can only try to win these games by showing determination, displaying a spirit of sacrifice and working hard every day.”

The Azzurrini, whose exploits have earned them a place at October’s World Cup in Brazil, have a tough game in store: “We’ll be playing a strong side,” warns Nunziata. “And the five games played up until this point will weigh heavily on the legs. But regardless of the result, the path the lads have taken so far has been exceptional: they’ve constantly been able to impose their own game and have shown great determination. They always play to score more goals than the opposition and I’m sure that they’ll give everything that they’ve got until the very end. I would like to see them rewarded for the journey they’ve been on with a win, they deserve it.”

Over the course of qualifying and playing in this tournament, this is a team that has scored 34 and conceded just five. It is a team that reflects the social reality of our country right now: Franco Tongya’s (born in Turin to Cameroonian parents) goal against Portugal in the quarter-final showdown and Destiny Udogie’s (born in Verona to Nigerian parents) goal at the semi-final stage against France were both vital. Now, Italy will be looking to successfully claim the title for the first time since 1982, when a different format involving the Under-16s was used.

 

 

As for the Netherlands, they’ve won the continental tournament three times. In his pre-match press conference, Head Coach Peter Van Der Veen declared that they must “respect but not fear Italy”. The football they play is dynamic, with a 4-3-3 formation usually being deployed. Brian Brobbey, who has scored three goals so far, leads the attack and is a powerful battering ram who is difficult to stop. It will be interesting to how both he and Italy’s Sebastiano Esposito (four goals: two penalties and two free kicks) get on up front in what will be the battle within the battle.

During the group stage, the Oranje beat Sweden 2-0 and England 5-2 before losing to France 2-0, thus coming second behind Les Bleus. They then comfortably defeated Belgium 3-0 at the quarter-final stage before winning 1-0 against Spain in their semi-final showdown.

Under-17 European Championship Final

Sunday 19 May

17:30 CEST: The Netherlands vs. Italy (Tallaght Stadium, Dublin)