Italy’s approach to the European Championships begins with a friendly victory against San Marino, beaten in Cagliari with a severe 7-0. At the Sardegna Arena, open for the occasion to 500 spectators, the coach Mancini takes advantage of the ‘soft’ test to launch an experimental 11 with an unprecedented trident, made up of Kean, Grifo and captain Bernardeschi. And it was the Juventus player who kicked off the scoring after the first half hour of the Azzurri without flickering.
After a minute of meditation in the memory of the victims of the Mottarone tragedy and the disappearance of Tarcisio Burgnich, Italy needs time to find the right measures and only takes the lead on 31 ‘with Bernardeschi’s conclusion from outside. The castle of the ‘Titano’, on the pitch with a cautious 4-5-1, then surrenders to some serious uncertainties: in the 34th minute the Benedettini goalkeeper comes out badly and gives the joy of the goal to the rookie Ferrari.
In the second half, Politano (who took over from Kean) only needed 4 minutes to take advantage of a slip by Fabbri and score the 3-0 with his left-handed. It didn’t take long for Belotti to enter the scorers’ table: the ‘Gallo’ dropped the poker in the 67th minute after the double exchange in the strait with Bernardeschi, protagonist in the subsequent actions that lead to the two goals of Pessina, interspersed with the goal of Politano for the brace personal within the final 7-0.
A serene evening, however, for the two extreme Azzurri defenders Cragno and Meret, who alternated in the middle of the second half and in the run-off for the place as third goalkeeper behind Donnarumma and Sirigu. Italy will return to the field on June 4 at Dall’Ara to face the Czech Republic, the last test before the debut at the European Championships against Turkey, scheduled for June 11 at the Olimpico in Rome.