It is possible to have a more enjoyable first competitive national team match than the one Elison Makolli experienced at Stadio Dino Manuzzi. During the first half, the former Malmö FF defender symbolized a Swedish U21 national team that simply did not suffice against a superior home team.
It was Makolli, now in Danish Aalborg, who made a mispass to Italy's 1–0 scorer Niccolò Pisilli in the 12th minute. And it was unfortunately the same Makolli who pulled a bit too much on Francesco Camarda's arm. The referee awarded a penalty and Camarda cheekily chipped in 2–0 past Elis Bishesari in the Swedish goal.
In added time of the half, Pisilli headed in 3–0 to punctuate the match just in time for the break.
Tommaso Berti completed the rout by scoring 4–0, also on a penalty, in the final minutes of the match.
Sweden began the qualifying campaign for the U21 European Championship 2027 with a win against Armenia (3–0) but then fell heavily away against Montenegro (0–2). After another loss, they are already six points behind Poland and Italy, who have both won all three matches. The team that finishes first in the group goes directly to the European Championship, while the second-place team goes to the playoff.
