The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 114 Advance to the finals!

At the beginning of the second half, facing the fierce offensive of the Swedish team, all Italian players retreated to their own goal.

Despite their numerical advantage, the hosts could not find a way to break through the dense defense in a short period of time.

On the contrary, Leo was keenly aware that the opponent's attack was blocked and there was an opportunity to relax.

Italy's No. 10 broke through to the right and sent a precise 45-degree diagonal pass!
  Aqua Fresca got ahead of several defenders and hit the net with his header!

Two to zero!
  It was actually the ten-man Azzurri who responded to the challenge and expanded the score!
  Then the game reached a deadlock again, with the two sides engaging in fierce physical confrontation in the midfield.

In the 65th minute, the head coach was worried about Leo being injured and replaced him with Abate.

Seeing Leo's exit, the Swedish team decisively further strengthened its attack.

The hosts, playing eleven against ten, formed a siege on Italy's goal.

Defending for a long time will eventually lead to mistakes.

In the 90th minute, Toivonen's precise ground ball from the front of the penalty area hit the left side of the door!

Sweden tied the score to 2-1!

But Italy managed to secure the victory in the end, winning both games in the group stage and qualifying ahead of schedule!

Four days later, in the final round of the group stage, Italy faced Belarus, who were at the bottom of the group.

Since Balotelli received a red card in the last round, right winger Abate replaced him in the starting lineup, and the other ten players remained unchanged.

Although not long after the first half began, Citov made a pass from the right and Kishlyak pushed into the net. Belarus unexpectedly took the lead.

However, Leo and Candreva, who came on as substitutes in the second half, assisted Acqua Fresca to score in the first and second half, and Italy completed the reversal 2-1!

After the overtake, Casiraghi replaced Leo with Giovinco, and the two-to-one score remained until the end of the game.

Italy U21, which won three consecutive games in the group stage, successfully advanced to the semi-finals of the European Youth Championship.

Leo soon learned that their opponent in the semi-finals would be the old rival Germany, who lost to England in second place in Group B.

"Playing against the German team, there's not much pressure there."

Leo said easily.

"Haha, that's true. It's safe to enter the finals!"

Although it's just a joke, Italy's superior record against Germany over the years is a source of confidence for the young players in the Italian youth team.

On June 6, the European Youth Championship semi-final match between Italy and Germany will continue at the Olympia Stadium in Helsingborg.

In another semi-final earlier, England U21 led - and was dragged into overtime by Sweden with three consecutive goals!
  In the end, the young Three Lions eliminated the host country and entered the final with a penalty shootout.

The confrontation between Germany and Italy at the national team level left many classics for fans.

But at the U21 level, today's game is the first confrontation between the two teams in an official competition.

Italian coach Casillaghi replaced three starters, Balotelli returned from suspension and Abate returned to the bench.

Decelli was injured in the last game, and Marchisio was suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards. Thiago Motta and Candreva also got the opportunity to start.

For the German team, compared with the final round of the group stage against England, the starting lineup has been adjusted in four ways.

Khedira, who injured his right knee, failed to pass the pre-match physical examination, and Johnson was appointed as the right midfielder.

Castro moved to the center, Ogo and Marin replaced Ebert and Benhadila, and left back Bonisch returned from injury to replace Schmelzer.

Today Italy is wearing a white jersey, while Germany is wearing red.

At the beginning of the first half, the German tank took the lead in entering the game.

Three shots were taken in the first five minutes, but they all lacked threat.

Since then, Italy has used corner kicks to threaten the German team's goal many times, but it is a pity that Neuer is as stable as a rock in front of the goal.

In the eighth minute, Balotelli withstood German defender Boateng in the penalty area and cleverly responded. Leo's powerful low shot from the penalty area line!
  Neuer flew to the ground and blocked the ball with one palm!
  "Again?!"

Serbian goalkeeper Brkic's defense had already left a deep shadow on the Italian players.

The German goalkeeper seems to be even more difficult to deal with today!
  Leo held the ball and came to the corner flag area. He sent a curve ball into the penalty area and accurately found the center back Andreoli who was fighting for the top at the back point!

The Italian central defender jumped high and shook his head to hit the goal crossbar!
  "What a pity……"

Neuer had given up resisting this ball, but in the end it was rejected by the goal.

The German team counterattacked quickly, and Ergo's long shot outside the penalty area was confiscated by Consili.

Leo moved in a wide range and Candreva broke through with the ball from the right.

Breaking all the way to the bottom line and passing in, Balotelli's right-footed volley from the left side of the penalty area hit Baker and changed direction!
  Akwa Fresca's header missed the ball and was saved by Neuer.

Two minutes later, Leo made a direct pass, and Bashen's powerful volley was blocked by the German goalkeeper!

The Italian U21 youth team's corner kick is still handed over to Leo to take the penalty.

Two years of hard training have paid off. Now Leo's set-pieces cannot be said to be 100% accurate, at least he can hit them wherever he wants.

Therefore, it is natural to take the right to take the set kick from Balotelli. Balotelli will let him go to the penalty area to grab some points.

Motta beat Hewedes' header from the front and was saved by Neuer bravely!
  Immediately afterwards, Aqua Fresca's close shot was blocked by Marin!
  "Why do I feel like I have bad luck today? Isn't Lady Luck on our side?"

Leo created opportunities many times, but he couldn't break the goal guarded by Neuer. Although this thought flashed through his mind, Leo kept his feet on his feet and made a flying shovel to knock Ergoulian to the ground with the ball.

The referee could see it clearly from the side. Although the move seemed big, Leo kept his feet back and tackled the ball first, without even calling a foul.

After stealing the ball, Leo quickly got up and dribbled the ball forward. Faced with the siege of Castro and Ogo, he had no choice but to break through to the side.

After overtaking the ball and getting rid of the defense of German full-back Bernisch, Leo looked up and observed the position of his teammates, and passed the inverted triangle back to the center.

Chigarini's low shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Neuer, and Balotelli's follow-up shot in front of the penalty area was also deflected by Neuer!
  Although the 23-year-old Neuer fell in front of the goal line, the Italian players looked over and seemed to see a goalkeeper!
  Ergo passed the ball over the top, and Johnson cut in from the right to the center and hit a left-footed volley that hit Italian defender Bochetti and missed the far post.

Ergo's corner kick was too close to the goalkeeper, but Consili picked it off first. He threw the ball to Criscito with a strong hand, and Italy quickly counterattacked!
  The regular time of the first half has ended at this time, and the referee Pedro frequently checks his watch and may end the first half at any time.

Criscito cooperated with Balotelli on the left and got rid of two German defenders in a two-two.

Bashen grabbed the ball and attracted the attention of Hewedes. He stepped on his bicycle and suddenly knocked the ball to Leo behind him.

Leo received the ball and crossed to the small penalty area and shot with his right foot straight into the upper right corner of the goal!

Even someone as strong as Neuer can't do anything against such a high-quality attack from close range!
  One to zero!

Italy scored first!
  The Azzurri ended the first half with a one-goal lead!
  But this game is destined not to end so easily.

Less than three minutes into the second half, German right back Baker took the ball from the wing.

Before the Italian defenders realized the danger, the opponent suddenly volleyed hard into the far corner thirty meters away from the goal!
  One to one!

The German team equalized the score!

Baker, who is not good at attacking, unexpectedly scored an unsolvable world wave!
  Leo sighed, and could only say that the intensity of this game was much greater than he originally expected.

It's not comparable to the previous U19 games.

There was no way. Seeing that the morale of his teammates was poor after the equalizer, Leo, as the captain, clapped his hands to encourage the team to cheer up.

Not only is Leo not the oldest player in the Italian team, on the contrary, he is the youngest among the twenty-three players.

But it can be seen from here that he is a well-deserved captain in terms of strength and willpower.

After receiving Candreva's pass, Leo dribbled the ball through the middle and broke through two defensive players before being brought down by Boateng in front of the penalty area.

The German defender who raised his foot too high during the tackle was given a yellow card by the referee.

Balotelli's low free kick missed the wall but ended up just wide of the left post.

Time passed by, and both teams were a little anxious. Obviously dragging it into overtime or even a penalty shootout was not a good thing for both sides.

Especially for Italy.

Marin was injured in the fierce fight and was replaced by Benhadila.

On the Italian side, head coach Casiraghi also replaced Candreva and Acqua Fresca with Abate and Pawlowski.

The competition has entered a fierce stage.

Ergo passed Andreoli on the left side of the penalty area and volleyed his left foot from a small angle and missed the near post.

Balotelli turned around and shot from the top of the penalty area but Neuer blocked it.

Germany and Italy were going back and forth, and their offensives continued.

In the 89th minute, Leo cleverly passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area!

Balotelli's right foot hit Boateng's arm!

The Italian player raised his hand to signal handball, but the referee shook his head and did not interrupt the game.

I had no choice but to bother complaining to the referee, because the German team's offense had already reached the frontcourt.

German team forward Dejaga received Ergo's through ball and volleyed hard from the front of the penalty area and flew into the stands with too much force!

In the second minute of stoppage time, Italy quickly counterattacked!
  Leo gave Balotelli a subtle wink, and Balotelli nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

Continuous breakthroughs in the middle, Leo Marseille turned around and got rid of Ogo and then passed into the penalty area!

Balotelli shot diagonally and threw away German defender Boateng's chest to stop the ball and face Neuer alone!
  The German goalkeeper decisively abandoned the goal and attacked Bashen!

Balotelli faked a shot and passed the ball across the middle. Leo jumped on the horse and rushed to push the shot into the empty goal!
  Two to one!

Italy takes the lead again!
  The referee did not give any more time and directly blew the whistle to end the game.

In the end, Italy U21 defeated Germany - with Leo's brace and advanced to the European Youth Championship finals!

After the game, Egou wanted to come over and exchange jerseys with Leo. Leo felt disgusted looking at this weird-looking guy.

So he took the lead and threw the jersey into the stands and gave it to a young fan.

Ergou's face flushed with embarrassment, and then his eyes gradually became fierce, staring at Leo's retreating back.

Three days later, Italy will compete with the England youth team for the championship of the 17th European U21 Youth Championship at the New Stadium in Malmo!

　Some players from this German U21 team did not choose to play for the German national team for some unknown reason...

　　Oops, I’m so annoyed. Yesterday I made a mistake and saved the manuscript -2, and today I can’t find the status of my code...

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)