Will Italy manage a turnaround to success or will the Portuguese follow up their good performance in the round robin games?
The first period was dominated by the Italians. They looked more determined, more agile, more focused and their will to win was palpable. Fontana gave Italy the lead as early as the 2nd minute following a pass from Lombardi. The Tifosi's pressure continued and a remarkable solo run by Rinaldi was stopped by Portugal’s goalkeeper Cruz at the last moment. The Portuguese team remembered its qualities and launched counter-attacks, but was unsuccessful. At the other end, Petreccia got away from the Portuguese defense and completed his solo run to make it 2:0.
The Portuguese started the second period in numerical superiority. They kept the Italian goal under constant attack, but were unsuccessful. As soon as the Italian team was back in full strength, Portugal scored the equalizer, but this was removed from the scoreboard after video review. The Tifosi's consistent forechecking behind Cruz's goal was rewarded when D'Ettorre converted Petraccia's pass to make it 3:0. Two minutes before the end of the period, the Italians' boxplay was stronger than the Portuguese powerplay.
The third period was a mirror of the two previous periods. Italy dominated the game, while the Portuguese did not seem determined enough. They were unable to overcome the Italian defense for long stretches. It was not until two minutes before the end of the game that Pacheco reduced the score to 3:1, with Vernace and Novielli scoring into the goal vacated by Cruz to make the final score 5:1.
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