[U19's Euro] Azzurrini held by England

There was no way through for either Italy or Englandas the two sides played out a goalless on Matchday 2 in Group B.

The first-half pressure applied by England gave no indication of the stalemate to come, but Italy looked better able to handle their opponents in the second period when they might have scored themselves.

The result in Jablonec left both countries in contention to qualify for the UEFA European U19 Championship semi-finals ahead of Sunday's third round of matches.

The Azzurrini, who drew 1-1 in their first game against Greece, must beat hosts Czech Republic to guarentee a spot in the last four, while England play the Greeks.

Italy: Fiorillo, Darmian, Bruscagin (Albertazzi 65), Tagliani, Gentili, Mazzarani (Raggio Garibaldi 46), Forestieri, Poli, Bonaventura, Paloschi (Zamblera 84), Okaka Chuka.

REACTION
Francesco Rocca (Italy coach):
"England played really well. It was not easy for us and it was a privilege to play against a team like that. You always judge a performance against the quality of the opposition. We also tried to play our football and overall I was happy with the display. We did well in a tough match, we put in a real shift and we were able to cope with England's physicality and athleticism. In the first half they were exposing our two centre-backs too much with runners from midfield, but we changed things and got better. Andrea Mazzarani took a knock so Silvano Raggio came on and he gave us something extra in central. It is a really tough competition and we are still capable of going through. In many ways it is an achievement just to be here, but now we have to play to win against the Czechs, both for the sake of this tournament and for U20 World Cup qualification."

MATCHDAY 2 RESULTS
Thursday July 17
Group A:
Spain 0-1 Hungary
Germany 3-0 Bulgaria
Group B:
Czech Republic 0-0 Greece
England 0-0 Italy

[TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW]

Source: UEFA