France cruised 4-0 past Italy to lift Under-19 EURO title

Two early goals and two late goals were enough for ruthless France to sweep aside Italy 4-0 in the final of the UEFA U-19 EURO in Sinsheim, Germany on Sunday.

Ludovic Batelli's men staged a faultless performance against Italy as goals from Jean-Kevin Augustin, Ludovic Blas, Lucas Tousart and Issa Diop wrapped up France's third U-19 title.

Italy started the final on the front foot yet France caught a fairy tale start in front of 25,100 spectators after Jean-Kevin Augustin utilized a through ball to shrug off two defenders to slot past Italy goalkeeper Alex Meret with eight minutes into the game.

Italy were shocked and unable to respond whereas "Les Bleus" gained momentum to double the advantage with 20 minutes played as Clement Michelin's cross into the box found Ludovic Blas at the near post.

Paolo Vanoli's men tried to recover from the setback but neither Andrea Favilli nor Manuel Locatello were able to reduce the arrears before the break.

After the restart, Italy's efforts remained fruitless as France tripled the lead late in the game when Filippo Romagna deflected Lucas Tousart's shot on target unstoppable in the 83rd minute. The 3-0 took the wind out of Italy's sails meanwhile France were not done with the scoring as Issa Diop headed home Christ-Emmanuel Maouassa's perfect cross into the box to round off the powerful display, which allowed the Frenchmen to clinch their third EURO title. Endit