Italy 1 - 3 England: U20 World Cup as it happened, goals, match report
Liverpool's Sheyi Ojo changed the game as the Young Lions beat Italy in the semi-final, with goals from Solanke (2) and Lookman. Venezuela await.
England 3 - 1 Italy: match report
England progressed to the Under 20 World Cup final for the first time after a 1-3 victory over Italy in Jeonju, South Korea. Venezuela await in the final for Paul Simpson’s Young Lions, having edged past Uruguay on penalties in the other semi-final.
Yet England had to overcome an early blow. With two minutes on the clock, the England defence reacted slowly to a quick free-kick, allowing burly striker Andrea Favilli to wriggle in behind. His cut-back found Orsolini, who struck first time from the edge of the box. Freddie Woodman was rooted to the spot as the ball nestled in the bottom corner.
The team in white responded well. Lewis Cook and Ainsley Maitland-Niles controlled the rhythm of play from the centre of midfield, but there was a spark of creativity missing, an absence of guile. Marauding right-back Jonjoe Kenny, Kirkdale’s answer to Dani Alves, had the best chance of the first half. The Everton man could only direct Ademola Lookman’s deep cross over the bar and on to the roof of the net.
There was a decisive event after 55 minutes. Not a goal, but a substitution. Sheyi Ojo took the place of Kieran Dowell on the right side of midfield, and grabbed the match by the scruff of the neck. Ojo is a product of the prestigious academy at Milton Keynes Dons, which boasts Dele Alli among its alumni, and the Italian defence could not deal with his injection of pace and trickery.
Ojo flashed the ball across the face of goal ten minutes after his introduction. Zaccagno flapped at the cross, and succeeded only in directing the ball in to the path of Dominic Solanke, who side-footed the ball in to an unguarded net.
After 77 minutes, Ojo returned to terrorise Di Marco, Italy’s left back. This time, his cross was deep. It hung in the air for Solanke, his new team-mate at Liverpool, who knocked the ball down for Ademola Lookman. From close range, he put England ahead.
Solanke sealed the victory two minutes before the end with a rasping shot from 30 yards out, which squirmed beyond the clutches of the ‘keeper to seal England’s place in the final. Not since 1993 had England under 20s reached the semi-final stage of this competition, when Nicky Butt, David Unsworth, and co. crashed out at the hands of Ghana. 24 years later, the Young Lions have gone one stage further. On Sunday, they will go for the silverware.
England 3 - 1 Italy: as it happened
England U20 v Italy U20 live stream online: World Cup semi-final preview
England face Italy in the semi-final of the Under 20 World Cup in Jeonju, with the two teams wrestling for the chance to play either Uruguay or Venezuela in the final in South Korea.
It is the first time that England have reached this stage of the competition since 1993, when Nicky Butt starred in the centre of midfield for the Young Lions, and David Unsworth was but a young whipper-snapper.
Paul Simpson's side is sprinkled with technical ability and pace; driven on by the hope that this crop of youngsters will be the ones to make an impact on the England senior team.
England team news
England have reached this stage of the competion via victories against the Central American pair of Costa Rica (round-of-16) and Mexico (quarter-final).
According to manager Paul Simpson in an interview with The Set Pieces, the aim of the tournament is to instil mental fortitude in the young Englishman, something that was so glaringly absent for the senior team at Euro 2016.
“We want to get away from the fact that everyone says England teams can’t cope with tournaments. We want to give them the experience so that in future we can deal with tournaments and be better at them.”
The England team has retained a consistent spine throughout the tournament, Lewis Cook captaining the side from the centre of midfield. In attack, recent Liverpool signing Dominic Solanke was the man who scored the only goal of the game against Mexico in the previous round.
There are five Everton players in the squad. Two of them, Jonjoe Kenny and Kieron Dowell, combine well on the right flank.
Tottenham midfielder Joshua Onomah will be unavailable due to suspension. He was sent off in harsh circumstances against Mexico.
Italy team news
Alberigo Evani's Italy scraped past an impressive Zambia side in the quarter-final to set up this clash with England, despite some questionable decision-making from the referee.
Thge Italian side are not short on attacking talent. Riccardo Orsolini, one of Juventus' vast herd of loaned out players, in his case at Serie B club Ascoli, has scored four goals so far in the tournament. Juventus saw enough talent to pay €6m for his services.
Yet at the back, Italy are more circumspect. The Azzurri have only managed to keep one clean sheet so far in the tournament, against South Africa.
England U20 v Italy U20 live stream online: match odds and betting
Will Italy discover the defence solidarity for which calcio is famed? They're at 13/2 to sneak a 1-0 win.
Bet on England U20 v Italy U20 now.
Follow the live coverage match of World Cup Qualifying between: Spain-Italy