Italy U17 are European Champions! Belgium beaten on penalties in Tallinn
Trailing in the 85th, Fugazzola's 91st-minute penalty equaliser, then the shootout: the Azzurrini lift the trophy. A second U17 title in three years: the 2009 generation is golden.
There is one image worth more than a thousand takes on the future of Italian football: the Azzurrini sprinting toward the away end at Tallinn's Lilleküla after the final penalty. Italy U17 are the 2026 European Champions, and the way they did it says everything about this generation's character.
Trailing 1-0 from Ojea's 85th-minute goal, the team did not fold: in the 91st minute Marcello Fugazzola converted the equalising penalty, dragging the final against Belgium to a shootout. From the spot, total composure: the trophy is Italian.
It is a second U17 European title in three years after 2024 — and the semi-final had already been won on penalties against Spain. This is no longer a coincidence: it is a system that produces, a 2009 age group that knows how to win.
Now the bar rises: the U17 World Cup in Qatar comes in November, and the Azzurrini arrive as European champions. In 2030 these kids will be 21. Write the names down.