There’s a bitter taste in the mouth for the Under-20 National Team, who will play their third place playoff match at 20:30 CEST on Friday in Gdynya. VAR’s controversial intervention to rule out Scamacca’s magnificent goal in the dying minutes against Ukraine was a devastating blow. It was a strike that would have taken the game to extra-time and would have allowed Italy to continue to chase their dream.

But the words the youngsters have heard since and which were repeated by Paolo Nicolato today have no doubt given the Azzurrini heart. Now, they are preparing to equal the success achieved by Italy two years ago in South Korea and fight for the bronze medal, something which was beyond their expectations at the start of this adventure: “We don’t have any regrets,” said the Head Coach firmly. “The worst kind of defeat is when you think that you didn’t do everything possible.” Addressing his players, Nicolato then had this to say: “You’ve gone above and beyond. I’m proud of the journey you’ve been on, but now the final game awaits us.” This will be against Ecuador, who yesterday were narrowly defeated by South Korea. This was an unexpected result, but more functional sides have reached this late stage in the World Cup and done better than teams with more flair and individual talent.

The biggest worry Nicolato has for Friday’s match is the short time his players will have had to recover both mentally and above all physically, with the quick turnover not helping in this regard: both Frattesi and Scamacca picked up injuries in the Azzurrini’s semi-final showdown and will miss the game, while Bellanova won’t be able to play either due to a knee problem.

Striker Andrea Pinamonti, who has scored four goals so far this tournament, will also be absent: this morning, he arrived in Bologna to join his Under-21 teammates ahead of the European Championship, with Italy set to play their opening game on Sunday 16 June against Spain.
The Azzurrini have already played the South American champions earlier on in the competition: during the group stage, Italy emerged 1-0 victors. Nevertheless, Head Coach Nicolato has been impressed with Ecuador: “They have excellent physical and technical ability, and I considered them a contender to win the tournament. Their strengths are well-known and we need to use all our resources to get ourselves going again.”

As for Gianluca Scamacca, he has barely been able to sleep with his disallowed goal going over and over through his mind: “I thought I’d made a typical movement you often see from an attacker with the aim of freeing myself from the close attentions of the defender. However, the referee obviously deemed it to be a foul. I’m disappointed because it would have been a great goal and an important one for the team, but I respect the decision made by the official.

The passion for the Azzurrini was on full display as 1,526,000 viewers tuned in to watch their defeat to Ukraine on TV (1,111,000 on Rai 2 and 415,000 on Sky Sport).

Third place playoff

14 June: Italy vs. Ecuador (20:30 CEST, Gdynya Stadium)

World Cup final

15 June: Ukraine vs. South Korea (18:00, Lodz Stadium)