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Play European Youth (U-21) Championship semifinals. Italy's national team, which won the third victory in a row, advanced to the final, along with its former Group A opponent Serbia and Montenegro. These two teams, having secured a ticket to the Athens Olympic Games, will play for the title on Tuesday. On the same day, there will also be a match for the third place - the winner will also secure a spot in the Olympic Games.
Sweden - Serbia and Montenegro 1 - 1 (5 - 6 after penalty shootout) 36' Babis Stefanidis [1 - 0] 91' Milos Maric [1 - 1]
Sweden took the lead in the 36th minute, when Elmander led Stefanidis to the goalkeeper with a great pass, and the defender took advantage of his opportunity. In the second half, the Serbs were unlucky as Djalovic hit the crossbar, and just when it seemed like Sweden was already in the final, Maric equalized the score in extra time. In extra time, both teams were close to scoring - Maric's shot hit the crossbar, and Ishizaki's penalty kick hit the post. Therefore, the winner had to be determined by penalty shootout. All first eleven attempts were successful, and the first miss was Stefanidis' shot, which was saved by the goalkeeper. After a dramatic battle, Serbia and Montenegro advanced to the final.
Italy - Portugal 3 - 1 19', 77' [1 - 0, 3 - 1] 24' [2 - 0] 28' Pedro Oliveira [2 - 1]
The first goal was created by players from "Parma" - Bonera took the ball from Bruno Alves, made an accurate pass to Gilardino, who scored with a header. Pinzi doubled the lead five minutes later. But the Portuguese did not give up, and soon Oliveira reduced the gap. Later, Angelo Palombo almost scored accidentally, but his pass hit the crossbar. After the break, Portugal pressed their opponents a bit, forcing them to defend more. In the 55th minute, goalkeeper Amelia saved his team by deflecting a tricky shot from Carlito. As the Portuguese stormed the opponent's goal, the Italians had plenty of opportunities for counterattacks. In one of them, in the 77th minute, Mesto passed the ball to Gilardino, who managed to avoid offside and scored accurately, securing the team's victory. Now Italy will strive to repeat the triumph achieved in 2000.
