Italy, Switzerland and Norway all had three points and the Azzurrini had a superior overall goal difference, but went out because of the goals scored in the head-to-head records.
The Nazionale are out of the European Under-21 Championship in the opening round, as France top the group on nine points, followed by three sides all on three each.
With this situation, a mini-league is drawn up between the teams on three points each and this too is totally even.
It’s because Italy beat Switzerland 3-2, Switzerland beat Norway 2-1 and Norway beat Italy 1-0, so three points each.
Then it goes down to goal difference and here is where Italy’s dismal second half against the Swiss proved costly.
They had been 3-0 up at the break, but eventually only won 3-2.
That means the goal difference was equal too, but Switzerland went through on more goals scored in that mini-league table: four goals, three for Italy, two for Norway.
Switzerland went through in second place, despite losing 4-1 to France in the last game.
So while overall Italy had a goal difference of -1, as did Norway, and Switzerland -3, that is irrelevant because the results that matter are between these three teams.