[U19's Euro] Paloschi penalty rescues Azzurrini

A 90th-minute equaliser from Alberto Paloschi helped Italy pick up a crucial point against Greece in the opening Group B game of UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Mlada Boleslav.

In a match of slight margins, Michail Pavlis's strike midway through the first half appeared to have been enough for Greece, but that was discounting the cool head of Paloschi who converted Italy's late penalty.

The Greeks seemed to have resisted all that Italy could muster until Sampdoria's Andrea Poli won the crucial penalty decision in the final minute of normal time, going down under a challenge from Kyriakos Papadopoulos.

Paloschi, who scored 18 seconds into his Serie A debut with AC Milan last season, did the rest by smashing the ball down the middle of the goal, giving keeper Nikos Babaniotis no chance.

The Azzurrini face England, who were beaten 2-0 by hosts Czech Republic in the earlier game, on Thursday.

Italy: Fiorillo, Darmian, Bruscagin, Tagliani, Gentili, Mazzarani, Poli, Bonaventura, Forestieri, Paloschi, Zamblera (Eusepi 73).

REACTION
Gesualdo Piacenti (Italy assistant coach):
"We put in a good performance against a Greece team who showed they are serious contenders. Overall we were satisfied with the draw – the Greeks were stronger in the first half but, over the 90 minutes, we produced a decent display and got a result. The players showed great togetherness and desire to work for each other. It was about the collective, not the individual, and the boys stuck to what the coaches had told them. This was an obvious banana skin, with the game being our first and with Greece being last season's runners-up, so it was a difficult test. But this was just the start, as we are planning to peak in five games' time."

MATCHDAY 1 RESULTS
Monday July 14
Group A:
Bulgaria 0-1 Hungary
Germany 2-1 Spain
Group B:
Czech Republic 2-0 England
Greece 1-1 Italy

[TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW]

Source: UEFA