Sweden upset the odds in the opening game of their European under-21 Championship campaign, coming behind to beat Italy by two goals to one.
Italy converted the first real chance of the game when the Little Blues were awarded a penalty for a mistimed slide tackle from Alexander Milosevic, who was later sent off. Starlet Domenico Berardi calmly scored to put the favourites a goal up.
Free agent John Guidetti improbably equalized in the second half, tapping in from close range following complacent defending from Italy. A poor reaction from Stefano Sturaro saw the midfielder sent off to level things on the pitch, before their misery was confounded when Isaac Kiese Thelin won the game from the penalty spot.
Italy started the game in an experimental 4-3-3 formation that was only introduced in a friendly against Inter Berrati last month. Watford's Cristian Battocchio retained his place in the team after playing in every qualifying fixture, starting up front alongside the impressive Domenico Berardi and Andrea Belotti. Stefano Sabelli was the only surprise inclusion, replacing Cristiano Biraghi at left-back.
Their opponents lined-up in a more customary 4-4-2 formation, with John Guidetti and the in-form Isaac Kiese Thelin spearheading the Swedish attack. Ludwig Augustinsson replaced Emil Krafth, who pulled out days before the competition after sustaining a back injury against Denmark, while Kiese Thelin recovered from a small heel injury during his time away with the senior team.
Italy take the lead in the first-half
Sweden were undeniably the underdogs before the game but had an assured start at the Androv Stadium, in spite of Italy harbouring the majority of possession during the opening exchanges. Despite a booking for Filip Helander for a cynical foul, the first-half became increasingly promising for the Blagult as they were allowed to keep hold of the ball for longer periods.
Hakan Ericson’s men could only keep out the Azzurrini for just under 30 minutes, though. A perfectly executed through ball from Domenico Berardi on the halfway line split open the Swedish centre-backs and, with Alexander Milosevic tracking back, the vice-captain brought down Andrea Belotti in the penalty area.
The 23-year-old was subsequently sent off by Anastasios Sidiropoulos but questions about whether it was a clear goalscoring opportunity were raised by the Swedish youngsters. To add insult to injury, Berardi, easily the best player of the first 45, cooly sent Patrik Carlgren the wrong way to open his account for the tournament.
However, the Italy players know how wrong they would be the write their European counterparts off following the nature of their qualification for the competition. Reverting to a 4-4-1, the Swedes had seemingly recovered from the controversial red card and kept the deficit the same until the interval.
Ericson brought on defender Victor Lindelof after the break, only in the squad due to the Krafth’s injury, to sure things up at the back and allow the midfielder covering in defense to return to his original position.
In fact, the yellows looked more assured in the second half with 10 men than they did in the first, gaining a corner after a Oscar Hiljemark cross was poorly dealt with from Zappacosta. The following set piece was taken down ineffably by Oscar Lewicki, who dribbled to the byline before accurately finding Guidetti on the periphery of the six-yard box. The former Manchester City striker tapped home to send his team level against all odds, continuing an impressive goalscoring season starting on loan at Celtic.
Luigi Di Biagio brought on Simone Verdi in place of Cristian Battocchio, in search of a winner. This suited the opposition down to the ground, allowing them to sit back and break on the counter.
Another substitute, Danilo Cataldi, almost put the five time champions in front with just over 15 minutes to play. A beautiful first touch from the Lazio man took him round Helander before the ball trickled excruciatingly adjacent to the goal line. The midfielder, 20, made quite the impact and that may have inspired the inclusion of Marcelo Trotta, formerly of Fulham.
Italy were reduced to 10 men with 10 minutes remaining when Stefano Sturaro responded badly to a Mikael Ishak ball hit him whilst the creative midfielder was on the ground. The Genoa loanee then palmed ‘veteran’ Ishak in the face, giving the Greek referee no option but to even the teams. An unforgivable reaction gave his team an even smaller chance of winning the game, and ultimately advancing to the semi-final stage.
Sweden upset the odds
Things then went bad to worse for the favourites after Francesco Bardi clipped Ishak in the penalty area, after the ex-Parma striker was put through on goal following an exquisite flick from Isaac Kiese Thelin. Bardi, battling with Nicola Leali for a starting spot, was only shown a yellow card but the damage was done as Kiese Thelin slotted the penalty into the bottom right hand corner.
Memories of the play-off match with France were rekindled by the Swedish fans within the ground, battling against a superior side throughout the encounter before doing the impossible and coming from behind to win.
The result temporality puts the underdogs at the top of Group B and Italy bottom, with England and Portugal still to play. Plenty of character and spirit was on show from the Swedish, but bigger tests are yet to come for both sides. Italy will hope to rectify a disappointing loss against Portugal on Sunday while Sweden face England.