Country: Italy

Coach: Vincenzo Malatino

Key Players: Matteo Capuzzo (Goalkeeper), Max Prantner (Left Wing)

Qualification for Mauritius 2017: European Qualification (Nazare, POR) – 3rd place

Overview:

“For Italian handball it would be a dream. We know we are among the best three European teams and for this reason we want to play all our chances to try to reach the Youth Olympic Games,” says coach Vincenzo Malatino.

Italy claimed bronze at the 2016 European Championship in Nazare, Portugal (8-10 July). They won their three group phase matches versus Germany, Hungary and Croatia to proceed to the quarter-finals. On that stage they defeated Poland 2:0 to secure their U17 World Championship spot. In the semi-finals, the hosts Portugal cast a shadow on their positive momentum with a 2:0 win. Finally, they recovered with a 2:0 victory over Russia to climb the podium.

In Mauritius, the Italians will be part of Group D together with Portugal, Australia and New Zealand. “Ours is a difficult group,” believes Malatino. “We know Portugal because we have already faced him in the semi-finals in Nazare. Australia and New Zealand are two teams that are working hard in beach handball, so we will have to play with them with great attention.”

Vincenzo describes Italy as a “physically strong team and with good players. Our goalkeeper Matteo Capuzzo has been chosen as the best European goalkeeper in Nazare. And we are a very united team.” Another important player for them is left wing Max Prantner, their top scorer at the European Championship with 32 goals. However, it was a very long season for some of his players, engaged in both the indoor and beach handball, “and they may be a little tired in July”.

To gear up for Mauritius 2017, where three out of the four European participants will book a spot for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, Italy are doing some specific training sessions and have played several friendly  matches in the past few weeks.

Mauritius 2017 (men’s) – Group D: Portugal, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.

You can follow the men’s Italy team campaign on their official channels: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube

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