Football, Euro 2023: San Marino Under 21 is up after seven years
The San Marino Stadium continues to give emotions. After Fabbri’s goal with the senior national team, tonight it’s the Under 21’s turn to update their historical numbers. The Biancoazzurrini find a positive result that was missing since July 16, 2015, the date of Estonia – San Marino 0-0. Not a few points of contact with tonight: identical score, always Baltic opponent. Instead of Estonia, however, in front of the home team there was Latvia, opposite in the standings of the team coached by Matteo Cecchetti. And the CT is the other great historical reason of the evening: for him this was his debut evening. Compared to the first overall, that of Thursday in Hungary, the San Marino coach – now a specialist in international results – confirms eight of the owners. The novelties are represented by Franciosi, on his return from disqualification, by Contadini and by Lazzari, born in 2003 who found himself to settle in a unicum the first call and the first absolute presence with the Under 21, moreover as a starter. It is he who supports Pancotti in the attacking tandem of the home team.
The Biancoazzurrini play a commendable first half, in which the first 25 ‘stand out in a particular way, lived with lucid fury. The pressure, even very high, brought to the lines of Latvia is furious, and the management of spaces and game times is very lucid, with the departments always short and tidy and a Latvia found itself forced to force plays that almost never succeed. , she who had built – not surprisingly – the first leg victory with the counterattack weapon. Cecchetti knows this perfectly and therefore the first task of the young Titans is not to get behind them. Deliveries respected to the letter. And not only that: the home national team immediately goes very far, trying to surprise the visiting team also in their attitude. Lorenzo Lazzari shows all his desire to do well at the debut, alternating technical qualities with healthy “garra”. It is the very young striker who is the first to look for Beks’ goal with a long-range shot that ends up on the high crossbar. Shortly after, Capicchioni looks for Lazzari who runs away to the bottom and, by heart, looks for companions in the area, but they are late for the appointment: Beks blocks on the ground. Latvia can be seen, indeed we can see ahead with the fall in the area of Šits, which requires a penalty that is not there. San Marino immediately resumes the offensive theme, conquering an advanced and lateral free-kick with the stubborn Franciosi, which Tosi kicks directly towards the goal, finding Beks’ easy save. A few minutes pass and it is Lazzari, thanks to the very high pressure on Meļņiks, who takes home a very interesting free kick from the top. This time he beats Capicchioni, who looks for the long pole by kicking at full power: high ball. The biancoazzurra national team remains in the area and very soon after carves out the space for a very treacherous cross: as before Lazzari, Franciosi does not find companions in the area. Latvia tries a break with Lūsiņš’s long bucking, which enters the area, must surrender to Matteoni’s perfect takle, who only takes the ball and then rejoices like him after scoring a goal. In fact, the individual duels won in large quantities are another medal on the chest of the Titans at first which, at a certain point, however, demands its duty in terms of managing forces.
The Titans, physiologically forced to breathe after 25 minutes of full play, suffer the return of Latvia. That in the 29th minute a sensational, albeit dirty, goal ball is squandered: Šits climbs on Tosi on the verge of a foul in an attempt to intercept a cross from the left; the good ball for both number 9 and Lūsiņš, and in the carom that follows it is Šits himself who finds himself a golden ball inside the small area, but sensationally misses the target thanks to a deviation. After the shot of Ķiršs controlled without problems by De Angelis, Ciacci guesses a sensational right-footed shot from the edge that bags at the intersection and that attracts the applause of the home crowd: unfortunately for the Titans, however, the joy remains only platonic because the game he had already been stopped for a foul suffered by Meļņiks. In any case, this is a further sign of the desire of the children of the house to return to command operations. And the intention becomes action in the last 5 ‘before the break, a lapse that sees San Marino return to the chair and also build a good opportunity on the Lazzari – Pancotti axis: the former puts all his quality into ball control and arming the left-handed of the second, who slips on the most beautiful destined for the conclusion, in spite of himself, very far away from the mirror.
At the start of the second half there is no news in the two-eleven. Latvia started more convinced and in the 47th minute frightened the rear guard with a sharp free kick from Vapne, on which Franciosi’s intervention was providential to stop Šits in the small area. On the corner that follows, the decisive exit with the fists of De Angelis, particularly significant if we consider that in the Budapest match, just five days ago, the blue-white extreme was accompanied to the emergency room for having suffered a terrible kick in face from an opponent. The courage shown by the number 1 is promptly lined up by his teammates, who pour forward in search of the verve of the first half. In this phase, however, there are no dangers for Beks’ goal, while Latvia is very insidious on the usual places: two corners put apprehension at the home guard, especially the one at game time, when Veips gets rid of the marking and tries to gore with power towards the door of De Angelis, failing the intent. Between the two corners also Vapne’s right on the edge, too throttled to hurt De Angelis. At 60 ‘ends the game of Ciacci, taken over by Toccaceli. Shortly after, excellent opening of Pancotti for the rushing Contadini, who engages a one against all, carving out the space to explode the left, interesting but measure. Meanwhile, the red reserve light turns on for Matteoni and Lazzari, recalled for Tomassini and Cecchetti. From a small confusion in midfield originate the yellow sequences of Capicchioni, Toņiševs and Tosi. In terms of the game, Latvia returns to make themselves in the San Marino area with the header from a high Meļņiks corner, and above all with the very occasional Veips on the development of a free-kick: amazing from the ground De Angelis, who thus remedies all uncertainty which gave rise to the same opportunity as the visiting defender. In the last 10 ‘other waning energies and other changes for Cecchetti: in Rastelli and Valentini for the exhausted Capicchioni and Contadini.
The finish is one of management: tiring, long but tidy. The Titans no longer have it to look for the host door, but they have it to withstand the last Latvian gusts. Moretti is monumental in stopping Šits launched at the net with a perfect intervention for cleanliness, determination and timing. There were 3 ‘to 90′ and it would have been a lethal blow, as well as extremely unfair for the test offered by the Titans. The latest attempt by Basovs’ team is in a shot from the edge by Lūsiņš, treacherous but oversized. An additional 5 ‘minutes are granted by the Portuguese referee, but despite the great amount, the recovery does not reserve any bitter surprises for Cecchetti’s boys also because at 90 + 2’ De Angelis is perfect in deflecting the sharp cross of Dašķevičs, which should it could create serious problems in the most delicate area of the field. No other interventions by the home goalkeeper will be needed: at the triple whistle, the Under 21 National Team can rejoice for having been missing for almost seven years. A fair reward for very generous Titans, the applauded after leaving the field.
The Scoreboard
San Marino-Latvia 0-0
SAN MARINO [3-5-2]
De Angelis; Moretti, Matteoni (from 69 ‘Tomassini), Tosi; Franciosi, Ciacci (from 60 ‘Toccaceli), Dolcini, Capicchioni (from 82’ Valentini), Contadini (from 82 ‘Rastelli); Lazzari (from 69 ‘Cecchetti), Pancotti
Available: Terenzi, Babboni, Valentini, Rastelli, Zannoni, Pasolini
Coach: Matteo Cecchetti
LATVIA [4-4-2]
Bek; Zeņģis (from 87 ‘Kalniņš,), Toņiševs, Veips, Iļjins; Ķiršs (from 61 ‘Dašķevičs), Meļņiks, Vapne, Bočs (from 74’ Stepanovs); Lusiņš, Šits
Available: Soloha, Uldriķis, Fedorovičs, Jaunarājs-Janvāris. Zelmanis
Coach: Aleksandrs Basovs
Referee: Luis Miguel Do Nascimento Teixeira (POR)
Assistants: Bruno Filipe Parente Fernandes (POR), Joan Guiu Serra (AND)
Fourth Official: Rui Miguel Maciel De Queiros (AND)
Booked: Capicchioni, Toņiševs, Tosi, Pancotti