The Men's U18 National Team suffered a 41-23 defeat to Italy in their second match of the European Championship in Belgrade. Although the final margin looks lopsided, the contest was tightly fought for the opening 15 minutes.

Level at the start

At the 15-minute mark, the score stood at just 8-7. It was from this point on that the Turkish side lost its footing.

The 15 minutes that broke the match

From 8-7 at 15:02, the score swelled to 20-10 by halftime: in that span, Italy scored 12 goals to Turkey's 3. The turning point was a crushing 6-0 run conceded between 16:23 and 20:47 (8-7 to 14-7).

Recurring scoreless stretches

Play-by-play data shows the national team fell into repeated 5-8 minute goal droughts throughout the match:

- 15:02 → 21:23 (6.5 minutes without a goal — Italy went 6-0 in this stretch)
- 21:59 → 29:48 (roughly 8 minutes without a goal — Italy extended the gap by 5)
- 34:39 → 39:48 and 45:24 → 50:32 (two roughly 5-minute droughts in the second half — Italy went 4-0 in each)

Defence and numerical disadvantage

Eight of Italy's goals came on "powerplay" possessions — while Turkey were down a player following a two-minute suspension — suggesting the defence lost its shape when playing shorthanded.

Fatigue or a gap in class?

The data points to a combination of both factors. The fact that Turkey stayed level for the first 15 minutes before fading in waves points to conditioning as a key factor. A concrete comparison: against the same opponent in the October-November 2025 qualifiers, with a rested squad, the margin was just 7 goals (34-27); this time, the gap widened to 18 (41-23). Turkey took the court for this match only about 19 hours after their game against Serbia — the shortest rest period of any team in the group — while Italy had roughly five to six more hours of recovery time. That said, it should not be overlooked that Italy are a genuinely strong side who won even against Turkey's rested squad in the earlier meeting: the congested schedule appears to have amplified an existing gap in class rather than created it.

Standouts

Despite the defeat, Atahan Akçam scored 6 goals and Emirhan Uyman added 5.

Next match

The National Team will close out the group stage against Germany on August 1. This time the rest period will be longer — offering a chance to see just how much conditioning has been affecting the team.

Match: Italy 41-23 Turkey · Sportski Centar Voždovac, Belgrade · Referees: Ivanovic-Kaludjerovic (MNE)