After winning the last edition of the tournament, Italy’s U20s are ready to begin a new Elite League campaign against Poland. Alberto Bollini has called up 23 players to face the Poles, with the game scheduled for 17:30 CEST on Tuesday 7 June in San Benedetto del Tronto. The Stadio Riviera delle Palme will host this fixture in a competition that also includes Portugal, Romania, the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway and England.

Many new faces feature in the squad, including Juventus defender Nicolò Savona and Cagliari midfielder Nicolò Cavuoti, both of whom were born in 2003. Giovanni Garofani, Giorgio Cittadini, Alessandro Mercati, Aldo Florenzi, Cosimo Da Graca, Jacopo Desogus and Lorenzo Di Stefano (all born in 2002) are also all set to enjoy their first experiences in the Under-20 setup.

The players will get down to work on Friday 3 June in Grottammare and will head home after the match against Poland, against whom they also played their first match in the last Elite League tournament (winning 2-0).

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessandro Sorrentino (Pescara), Giovanni Garofani (Juventus);

Defenders: Tommaso Barbieri (Juventus), Nicolò Savona (Juventus), Alessandro Pio Riccio (Juventus), Andrea Papetti (Brescia), Christian Dalle Mura (Pordenone), Giorgio Cittadini (Atalanta), Matteo Ruggeri (Salernitana), Riccardo Calafiori (Genoa);

Midfielders: Alessandro Mercati (Montevarchi), Simone Panada (Atalanta), Aldo Florenzi (Cosenza), Tommaso Pantaleo Milanese (Alessandria), Nicolò Cavuoti (Cagliari), Nikola Sekulov (Juventus), Franco Daryl Tongya  Heubang (Olympique de Marseille);

Forwards: Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Volendam), Nicolò Cudrig (Juventus), Cosimo Marco Da Graca (Juventus), Nicholas Bonfanti (Modena), Jacopo Desogus (Cagliari), Lorenzo Di Stefano (Sampdoria). 

Staff: Delegation Head: Evaristo Beccalossi; Secretary: Fabio Ferappi; Head Coach: Alberto Bollini; Assistant Coach: Enrico Battisti; Fitness Coach: Marco Montini; Goalkeeping Coach: Graziano Vinti; Match Analyst: Francesco Donzella; Nutritionist: Cristian Petri; Doctors: Luca Labianca, Alessandro Carrozzo and Lorenzo Sapegno; Physiotherapists: Tommaso Cannata and Andrea Cantera.

Schedule

7 June 2022: ITALY vs. Polonia
23 September 2022: Portugal vs. ITALY
17 November 2022: Romania vs. ITALY
21 Novemver 2022: ITALY vs. Czech Republic
23 March 2023: Norway vs. ITALY
27 March 2023: ITALY vs. Germany