The U17s’ path towards the European Championship finals in Cyprus will begin in Emilia-Romagna.

Yesterday’s friendly against Cesena’s U17s (a 4-2 win for the Azzurrini) cleared up any remaining doubts for Massimiliano Favo, who has submitted his 20-man squad (19 2007-born players and one born in 2008 – AC Milan attacker Francesco Camarda) for the Qualifying Round. For the first stage of the qualification process, Italy are in a group whose matches will take place across Cervia, Forlì and Santarcangelo di Romagna from Wednesday 25 October.

“The objective is to qualify while, at the same time, doing all that we can,” said Head Coach Massimiliano Favo. “There’s no point in hiding it: we want to qualify and do so well that we’re seeded for the next round. Obviously, it’s disappointing that some will miss out; as a coach, you want to include everyone in your squad. However, our task is to select 20 reliable players, and this is a good group that has always done well.”

Tournament format. The Azzurrini, who are set to face Greece, Northern Ireland and San Marino, will take to the pitch in Santarcangelo di Romagna and Forlì during the Qualifying Round. The top two teams in each of the 13 groups will progress to the Elite Round along with the five third-placed teams with the best records against the top two in their section. March's elite round, which will see 32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams each, will then decide the 15 teams joining Cyprus in the finals from 20 May to 5 June.

Schedule. Massimiliano Favo’s side will play their opening fixture against San Marino on Wednesday 25 October (15:00 CEST kick-off at the Stadio Valentino Mazzola), after which they’ll face Northern Ireland at the same stadium three days later (another 15:00 CEST kick-off). Both of these matches will be streamed live on figc.it. The Azzurrini’s final game will be against Greece at the Stadio Tullio Morgagni in Forlì (15:00 CET on Tuesday 31 October). The Stadio Germano Todoli in Cervia will host Northern Ireland vs. Greece and Greece vs. San Marino across the opening two matchdays.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessandro Nunziante (Benevento), Massimo Pessina (Bologna)
Defenders: Cristian Cama (Roma), Federico Colombo (Milan), Matteo Cocchi (Inter), Christian Garofalo (Napoli), Manuel Maffessoli (Atalanta), Francesco Verde (Juventus), Giorgio Vezzosi (Sassuolo)
Midfielders: Alessandro Di Nunzio (Roma), Federico Coletta (Roma), Niccolò Gariani (Atalanta), Mattia Liberali (Milan), Alessandro Olivieri (Empoli), Diego Pisani (Fiorentina), Elia Plicco (Parma)
Forwards: Francesco Camarda (Milan), Alex Castiello (Atalanta), Stefano Maiorana (Fiorentina), Mattia Mosconi (Inter)

Staff – Head Coach: Massimiliano Favo; National Youth Team Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Delegation Head: Filippo Corti; Club Italia: Giuseppe Martucci; Assistant Coach: Matteo Barella; Fitness Coach: Adalberto Zamuner; Goalkeeping Coach: Davide Quironi; Match Analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Doctors: Alessio Rosato and Francesco Maria Nifosi; Physiotherapists: Marco Fiore and Enrico Matera; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; School Tutor: Stefano Presciutti; Secretary: Massimo Petracchini.

Qualifying Round, Group 11: the calendar

Wednesday 25 October
Northern Ireland vs. Greece (12:00 CEST - Cervia, Stadio Germano Todoli)
Italy vs. San Marino (15:00 CEST - Santarcangelo di Romagna, Stadio Valentino Mazzola. Live on figc.it)

Saturday 28 October
Greece vs. San Marino (12:00 CEST - Cervia, Stadio Germano Todoli)
Italy vs. Northern Ireland (15:00 CEST - Santarcangelo di Romagna, Stadio Valentino Mazzola. Live on figc.it)

Tuesday 31 October
Greece vs. Italy (15:00 CET - Forlì, Stadio Tullo Morgagni)
San Marino vs. Northern Ireland (15:00 CET - Santarcangelo di Romagna, Stadio Valentino Mazzola)