Italy U17 Men Reach European Semifinal

U17 men set up semifinal against Israel

The Italian U17 men had finished first in Group C after earlier wins over Team Euro Youth and Czechia. They continued their unbeaten run by edging Austria 34–29 in the quarterfinals on September 25.

FIDAF’s report listed Israel as Italy’s semifinal opponent for the following morning, with a place in the European final at stake. Spain and Finland were scheduled to meet in the other semifinal.

U17 women exit after wild-card defeat

Italy’s U17 women opened the day with a 40–6 win over France, then lost 12–0 to Czechia. The result left Italy third in Group A, behind Czechia and Spain.

Germany beat Italy 38–13 in the wild-card game, ending the defending champions’ pursuit of another European title. FIDAF listed Austria as Italy’s opponent in a fifth- or sixth-place game scheduled for the next day.

U15 mixed team rallies against Slovakia

The U15 mixed team was eliminated from medal contention after a 33–16 quarterfinal loss to Team Euro Youth. In a subsequent placement game against Slovakia, Italy came back from a two-touchdown deficit to win 35–28, scoring the decisive touchdown with 40 seconds remaining, according to FIDAF.

The report said Italy was due to face Czechia in a fifth-place game the following day. Team Euro Youth and Austria were scheduled to contest the championship final.

Senior national team players visit

FIDAF also reported that senior national team players Luke Zahradka and Andrea Fantin visited the championships. The federation said they had recently been part of Italy’s silver-medal finish at the world championships in Düsseldorf and its qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.