The man of the match: Filippo Matonti © Vanna Antonello

Thanks to a South Tyrolean, the U20 team collectively breathes a sigh of relief.

The U20 national team achieved a vital victory on Saturday evening at the home World Cup in Milan: Led by an outstanding Filippo Matonti, the Azzurri beat the promotion favorites Hungary.

13 December 2025

From: leo

Here was John Parco's team, who had clearly lost their first three matches. And there were the Hungarians, who sat atop the table with eight points. Given these circumstances, Italy's 4-1 victory on Saturday evening can certainly be described as a sensation. Now, the Blue Team has their fate in their own hands in the final match against Estonia.

After Carlo Giordani (83,33 percent) and Riccardo Santangelo (86,96) had guarded the Italian goal with moderate success, Parco placed his trust in South Tyrolean Filippo Matonti for the first time. The goalkeeper, trained at HC Eppan but under contract with Varese, repaid this faith with a brilliant performance. He played a decisive role in the victory, as the Eastern Europeans fired almost twice as many shots (19:37).

De Luca seals the deal

Another South Tyrolean, Philipp Winkler, opened the scoring in the fourth minute. The favorites responded before the end of the first period through Ferenc Laskawy. Hungary continued to have the upper hand, but again failed to break down Matonti's defense. On the other end, the Azzurri were clinical: coach's son Alessandro Parco made it 2-1 in the second period, before Jacopo De Luca sealed the victory with a brace in the final frame.

Italy celebrated an important victory. © Vanna Antonello

With one matchday remaining, Italy remains bottom of the table with three points. A win against Estonia on Sunday at 16 p.m. would secure their place in the top division. The promotion race is also still open, as Poland and Hungary are tied for first place with eight points each.

U20 World Cup in Milan:

Italy – Hungary 4-1
Goals: 1:0 Winkler (4.01), 1:1 Laskawy (16.02), 2:1 Parco (32.58), 3:1 De Luca (47.08), 4:1 De Luca (54.00)

The table

Pos	Country	Games	Points
1.	Hungary	4	8
2.	Poland	4	8
3.	Estonia	4	6
4.	Lithuania	4	6
5.	Japan	4	5
6.	Italy	4	3