Italians determined to hold off Dutch

By Paul Saffer in Tirrenia

Hosts Italy did well to emerge from a tough Group A into the UEFA European Under-17 Championship semi-finals, but now meet the Netherlands in Pontedera without two key players.

Duo depart
Goalkeeper Enrico Alfonso was red-carded for dissent late in their 1-0 win against England on Sunday, and along with midfielder Ivan Castiglia has been suspended for two matches by UEFA, ruling both out for the rest of the tournament. Alfonso was ruled to have shown persistent disrespect to the referee after his dismissal, while Castiglia, an unused substitute, struck an opponent.

Tornaghi chance
Alfonso's place will go to Paolo Tornaghi, who appeared for the final minutes of the group stage, but Alberto Frison, who was eligible to be called into the squad as cover having been named in the provisional squad of 30, is injured leaving Italy with no custodian on the bench. Alfonso had the best record of any goalkeeper in these finals with two clean sheets and only one goal conceded.

Rocca prepared
Coach Francesco Rocca said: "Alfonso was crying after the game. We have two players that cannot play against the Netherlands. This is not good for us." However, Rocca has prepared his squad for any eventuality, having utilised all 18 players in the party with Tornaghi's enforced introduction.

'Difficult team'
"The Netherlands are a difficult team, but they are all difficult teams, the best in Europe," Rocca said. "This Italy team are growing, and after some rest, will be ready again. It is difficult to win because in our history Italy have never won, our players are children not men. Our young players never play first-team football or go abroad, whereas for example Turkey have several players in Germany. We need to form not just players but also men."

Kaiser concerns
Rocca's opposite number, Ruud Kaiser, also has a player banned, captain Dirk Marcellis having been booked for a second time in the tournament in the 2-1 win against Israel that secured second place in Group B following draws with Croatia and Switzerland. Right-winger Melvin Zaalman, who suffered an ankle injury against Croatia, remains a doubt.

Recharging batteries
Kaiser, who immediately after Sunday's victory said his side would be given a break, confirmed to uefa.com: "On Monday we had a day off, an easy day to go where we wanted - I played some golf with my staff - and on Tuesday we started to train again."

Italy analysed
Now the focus is on the hosts, and the coach added: "I saw the video of their game against England and will also watch the video of how they played against Turkey. And, of course, I have had one staff member at each match so we have already analysed them."

'Great atmosphere'
He is looking forward to the occasion of playing Italy. "It should be a great atmosphere. This is why you do it, for the big games with a lot of people watching," Kaiser said.

Peru opportunity
The winners at the Stadio Ettore Mannucci will meet Croatia or Turkey in the final at the same venue, and also guarantee a place in the FIFA U-17 World Championship final tournament in Peru later this year. "You can win a double bonus," Kaiser concluded.