Chelsea talent Cesare Casadei was the hero for Italy in their U-20 World Cup win over Brazil, scoring a brace in a tense 3-2 group stage clash.
The Azzurrini were drawn into Group D of the tournament in Argentina, lining them up against Nigeria, Brazil and the Dominican Republic, one of the tougher groups in the U-20 World Cup.
With Italy facing five-time U-20 World Cup winners Brazil in their opening clash, tensions were high, but Carmine Nunziata’s team did not disappoint in the Mendoza Stadium, although a poor final 20 minutes almost saw them throw away the win.
The Azzurrini started the match on the front foot and opened the scoring after just 11 minutes. A well-aimed floated cross by Riccardo Turicchia was caught by a leaping Casadei, whose header brought the ball to a waiting Matteo Prati, who duly smashed the ball past Mycael to make it 1-0.
In the 27th minute, Italy doubled their lead after Casadei worked hard to meet a corner and head it into the Brazil net, giving his team a two-goal cushion.
Only seven minutes later, Casadei’s agile dribbling was too much for the Brazil defence and he was brought down in the penalty area, leading the referee to point to the spot. The Chelsea talent made no mistake from 12 yards out, calmly dispatching the penalty to make it 3-0 before half time.
Italy looked to control the match more in the second half and see out their win, but a dip in focus on the 72nd minute allowed Marcos Leonardo to poke the ball past Sebastiano Desplanches, clawing one back for the five-time champions.
In the 87th minute, Leonardo found his brace with a strong header, giving the Selecao a glimmer of hope in the dying minutes of the match.
Italy responded well, though, and saw out their victory, giving them a key three points in their first Group D outing.
The Azzurrini’s next match is against Nigeria on May 24 at 19.00 UK time.