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Poland shocks host Italy in Euro U21 championship

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Bologna - Italy's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the European under-21 championships on home soil took a knock Wednesday with a 1-0 defeat to Poland in Bologna.

Krystian Bielik scored the only goal after 40 minutes in a game wasteful Italy had dominated, but were unable to control despite bringing on senior national squad players including Moise Kean and Nicolo Zaniolo.

Italy had beaten Spain 3-1 in their opener and another win would have guaranteed not only a semi-final berth but a ticket to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

"It gets more complicated now," conceded coach Luigi Di Biagio whose side now need to beat Belgium on Saturday and hope other results go their way to reach the final four.

"There is disappointment. We controlled it for 90 minutes, but were unable to score despite many chances we created."

Poland are top of the group on six points, with Italy and Spain on three with Belgium already eliminated after two losses.

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