Focus has now turned to the Under-20 World Cup final for the Azzurrini following celebratory scenes last night. The Under-20 National side are preparing for what could be history in the making in Argentina as they face Uruguay in their first-ever final at this level, scheduled to take place at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in La Plata on Sunday at 23:00 CEST (live on Rai 2). On the pitch and in the coach that transported the players and staff back to the hotel, following the 2-1 win over South Korea courtesy of goals from Cesare Casadei and Simone Pafundi, joyous scenes were inevitable. After singing World Cup Italia 90's anthem, "Un estate italiana", during the course of the journey, the lads woke up this morning with their minds already looking ahead to the final.

Today, the group had a recovery session to recuperate energy, with Sunday's game against Uruguay - beaten on penalties by the Azzurrini in the 2017 Under-20 World Cup 3rd/4th place play-off game in South Korea - set to be the players' seventh game in three weeks of tournament football, after already facing Brazil, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, England, Colombia and South Korea. This last match registered 5.83% of the TV viewing public (755,000 viewers) in the fist half, increased to 11.5% (763,000 viewers) after the break, when it was midnight in Italy.

Also the final, which will be preceded by the 3rd/4th place play-off game between Israel and South Korea, will kick off at 23:00 CEST, and where there will be an entire nation tuned in to La Plata to see the Under-20s follow their dream. 

Schedule and results

QUARTER-FINALS (3/4 June)
Israel 3-2 Brazil
Colombia 1-3 ITALY
USA 0-2 Uruguay
South Korea 1-0 Nigeria

SEMI-FINALS (8 June)
Uruguay 1-0 Israel
ITALY 2-1 South Korea

FINALS: 11 June 

19:30 CEST: third place play-off Israel vs. South Korea
23:00 CEST: final Uruguay vs. ITALY (live on Rai 2)

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Trento); Jacopo Sassi (Giugliano Calcio), Gioele Zacchi (Sassuolo);
Defenders: Filippo Fiumanò (Aquila Montevarchi); Alessandro Fontanarosa (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Mantova), Samuel Giovane (Ascoli), Gabriele Guarino (Empoli), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (Inter);
Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Cesare Casadei (Reading F.C.), Duccio Degli Innocenti (Empoli), Giacomo Faticanti (Roma), Luca Lipani (Genoa), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Matteo Prati (SPAL);
Attackers: Giuseppe Ambrosino Di Bruttopilo (Cittadella), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Daniele Montevago (Sampdoria), Simone Pafundi (Udinese).

Staff - Delegation Head: Marcello Nicchi; National Youth Team Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Head Coach: Carmine Nunziata; Assistant Coach: Emanuele Filippini; Fitness Coach: Vito Azzone; Goalkeeping Coach: Fabrizio Ferron; Match Analyst: Marco Mannucci; Scout: Claudio Coppi; Doctors: Carmelo Papotto and Lorenzo Ticca; Physiotherapists: Giuseppe Galli and Tommaso Cannata; Nutritionist: Alessio Colli; Accompanying Director: Gianfranco Serioli; Secretary: Aldo Blessich; Press Office: Giuseppe Ingrati; Administration: Francesco Casella; Club Italia: Matteo Galdelli; Logistics: Carlo Fanano.

History

(number of Under-20 World Cups won)

Argentina (six), Brazil (five), Portugal (two), Serbia (two), Ghana (one) Spain (one), Russia (one), Germany (one), England (one), France (one), Ukraine (one, current champions).