The Bulgarian under-17 national team lost against Italy U17 with 0:3 its first game in Group 12 of the UERO 2016 Qualifying round.
During the first half Viktorio Pavlov`s players stood better on the pitch at “Arena Sozopol” stadium in Sozopol. They pressed the opponent, followed the tactical instructions of the coach, created several good goalscoring opportunities and didn`t allow any serious dangers in front of their goal.
In the 11th minute the Bulgarians organized a good attack. Stanislav Antov made a fine run by the right side and crossed to Vladislav Zhikov who headed the ball to Kiril Nikolov, but his shot went wide.
Just three minutes later Bulgaria was awarded with a free kick. Kiril Nikolov came close to score but the goalkeeper made a fine save.
In the 18th minute after a good combination between Nikola Gavov and Martin Milkov, the last one tried his luck with a shot from 14 meters but the ball past beside the left post.
In the 39th minute Kiril Nikolov crossed from a corner kick to Dimitar Kostadinov but his header went just wide.
From the beginning of the second half the Italians had superior ball possession and tried to pressure Bulgaria`s players and that strategy gave result. In the 63rd minute Alessandro Dal Canto`s boys took the lead. The substitute Scamacca netted the ball from a free kick.
Five minutes later Andrea Pinamonti received a pass behind the Bulgarian defense and was brought down in the box by Petar Petrov. The referee Sascha Amhof pointed the spot and Pinamonti made it 2:0.
In the 76th minute Pinamonti passed to Scamacca who tried to score but Petrov saved.
A minute later Filippo Melegoni crossed from a corner kick and Matteo Gabbia shaped the outcome of the game – 3:0.
Yellow cards: Andrea Marcucci, Martin Milkov, Dimitar Iliev, Alessandro Tripaldelli, Petar Petrov, Alessandro Mallamo
In the other match of our group, Scotland beat FYR Macedonia with 3:0.
Thus, after the end of the first matches, Italy and Scotland occupy the first two places in the group with 3 points, while Bulgaria and FYR Macedonia are in the last two positions with 0 points.
Bulgaria`s next game is against Scotland on 23rd of October, Friday, at 19:00 hrs at "Lazur" stadium in Burgas. In the other match of the group Italy confronts FYR Macedonia at 16:30 at "Arena Sozopol" stadium in Sozopol.
BULGARIA: 12. Petar Petrov – C., 5. Aleksandar Bastunov, 7. Martin Milkov, 9. Stanislav Ivanov (77 min. - Ivan Tilev), 10. Vladislav Zhikov, 11. Nikolay Gavov (68 min. - Ivan Mitrev), 14. Dimitar Kostadinov, 15. Petko Hristov, 16 . Dimitar Iliev, 19. Valentin Antov, 20. Kiril Nikolov
Head coach: Viktorio Pavlov
Italy: 12. Filippo Marricchi, 2. Raoul Bellanov, 4. Edoardo Bianchi, 5. Alessandro Bastoni, 7. Alessandro Tripaldelli (77 min. - Luca Pellegrini), 8. Andrea Marcucci, 9. Marco Olivieri (48 min. - Gianluca Scamacca), 10. Filippo Melegoni - C., 13. Matteo Gabbia, 14. Mirko Antonucci (70 min. - Alessandro Mallamo), 16. Andrea Pinamonti
Head coach: Alessandro Dal Canto
Referee: Sascha Amhof (SUI)
Assistant referees: Stephane De Almeida (SUI), Sten Klaasen (EST)
Fourth official: Roomer Terajev (EST)
Stadium: “Arena Sozopol”, city Sozopol
Department "Public Relations and Media"
