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In Germany, the final tournament of the European Youth (U-21) Championship has started. Eight teams have entered it, which were divided into two groups: Group A includes Italy, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Belarus, while Group B includes the host Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.
Yesterday, two Group A matches were played. In the first match, the Balkan teams - Serbia and Montenegro faced Croatia, while in the second match Italy played against Belarus.
Serbia and Montenegro - Croatia 3 - 2 37' Danko Lazovic (1 - 0) 47' Goran Lovre (2 - 0) 49' Eduardo Da Silva (2 - 1) 68' Niko Krancjar (2 - 2) 86' Bratislav Ivanovic (3 - 2)
After the first half, the Serbs were leading 1-0, as the team captain Danko Lazovic scored with his head. Despite Croatia's decent performance, Serbia doubled the score at the start of the second half: Maric was brought down in the penalty area, the goalkeeper saved Delibasic's penalty, but Lovre was the quickest and capitalized on the rebound. Two minutes later, Da Silva, who came off the bench, narrowed the gap. In the 68th minute, the Croatian Krancjar equalized with a repeated shot. However, it was the Serbs' day, and with four minutes left until the end, Ivanovic scored the winning goal.
Italy - Belarus 1 - 2 6' Roman Kirienko (0 - 1) 44' (0 - 2) 58' (1 - 2) 58' dismissed from the field
One of the tournament favorites, the Italian youth team, had a shocking start. In the sixth minute, after a corner kick was raised, Gilardino failed to interfere with Kirienko in the air, who headed the ball into the net. After the goal, the initiative was handed over to the Italians, but they needed some time to adjust. Sculli had the first opportunity in front of the goalkeeper, but his shot was off target. Later, Gilardino's header flew just above the goal. Missed chances cost dearly, as with only one minute left in the first half, Belarus leader Aleksandr Hleb scored a great goal with a shot from 22 meters.
After the break, Italian coach Gentile sent three guards onto the field. In the 58th minute, one of them made an excellent pass to Gilardino, whose header was precise. Italy pressed the opponents, but Belarus' defensive play prevented them from creating anything dangerous. The situation became even more complicated for the Italians when Bonera received a red card during extra time, although it seemed that his mistake was accidental.
Today in Group B matches at 19:15, Germany will face Switzerland, while at 21:45, Sweden will play against Portugal.
