The first day of the Mediterranean Games football tournament was played this Sunday, with four matches scheduled.
The host country, Algeria thwarted the forecasts at the opening of the tournament. Mourad Slatni’s U18s won Spain (1-0), defending champion and one of the favorites in the competition. AC Ajaccio (France) attacking midfielder Mehdi Puch Herrantz unblocked the situation by scoring a sumptuous goal from outside (26′), to the delight of the many supporters present at the Sig stadium in Mascara.
In the other match of Group A, the other African representative, Morocco, had less success losing against France (0-1). The Lille, Amine Messoussa, scored the only goal of the game on penalty for the U18 tricolor (15th ) .
About fifty kilometers from Sig, the Mers El Hadjad stadium (Oran) hosted the first match of group B. Turkey made a successful debut against Greece. The Turks sealed their victory at the end of the first period thanks to Ali Sahin Yilmaz (39th) and Habib Bicer (45th+1). The Greeks reduced the score at the end of the match by Zisis Tsikos (81st).
In the other Group B match, Italy won in front of the young people of the Portugal team and on the lawn of the Ahmed Zabana Stadium (Oran). The Italians relied on Bologna striker Antonio Raimando who freed his side in the 77th minute of play. Note that Italian goalkeeper Davide Mastrantonio saved his side by fending off a penalty shot by Jorge Meireles.
On the program for the second day, scheduled for Tuesday, Algeria will challenge Morocco (5:00 p.m., Sig stadium), while France will cross swords with Spain (8:00 p.m., Ahmed Zabana stadium). In group B, Italy and Turkey will qualify for the semi-finals by facing respectively Greece (8:00 p.m., Mers El Hadjad stadium) and Portugal (8:00 p.m., Sig stadium).
