Hosts Italy beat Belgium 3-1 at the 2019 UEFA Under-21 EuropeanChampionship on Saturday thanks to goals from Nicolo Barella, Patrick Cutrone and Federico Chiesa.
Cagliari midfielder Barella made up for missing a free header early on by sweeping Italy ahead with a low shot across goal just before half-time.
The Azzurrini doubled their lead within 10 minutes of the restart when Lorenzo Pellegrini whipped in a cross from the left for Cutrone to direct a superb header past goalkeeper Ortwin De Wolf.
Belgium pulled one back late on through a brilliant curling effort from 17-year-old midfielder Yari Verschaeren, but Chiesa smashed Italy's third into the top corner with just minutes remaining to seal the win.