[U21 Qual] Unbeaten Azzurrini stay in control

Italy remained undefeated and in command of the 2009 UEFA Euro Under-21 Championship Group 1 after drawing 2-2 against Greece at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium in Athens.

The home side took a deserved lead in the 19th-minute with a header by Antonis Petropoulos but the Azzurrini then took control of the encounter. They had to wait until the 62nd-minute to equalise though when a powerful long-range shot by Giuseppe Rossi found the target.

With ten minutes remaining a textbook combination between Sebastian Giovinco and Daniele Dessena allowed the latter to unleash a clever shot from just inside the box that gave Italy the lead.

However, the Greeks reacted well and managed to clinch a point when substitute Konstantinos Mitroglou converted an 87th-minute penalty after Grigorios Makos had been brought down by Domenico Criscito.

Pierluigi Casiraghi's side moved on to 13 points from five matches with Greece in second spot, three points adrift.

Group 1 Results:
Tuesday 16 October
Greece 2-2 Italy
Wednesday 17 October
Azerbaijan 1-1 Albania
Faroe Islands 1-2 Croatia

Group 1 Standings:
[1] ITA - PLD: 05 - PTS: 13
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[2] CRO - PLD: 06 - PTS: 12
[3] GRE - PLD: 05 - PTS: 10
[4] ALB - PLD: 05 - PTS: 07
[5] FAR - PLD: 06 - PTS: 03
[6] AZE - PLD: 05 - PTS: 01

Group 1 Fixtures:
Friday 16 November
Italy v Azerbaijan
Saturday 17 November
Faroe Islands v Albania
Greece v Croatia

Source: UEFA