Football, but not only football. In fact, there’s been much more to these first few days of Silvio Baldini’s tenure as coach of Italy U21s. After their comeback win over Montenegro in La Spezia, the Azzurrini flew out to North Macedonia yesterday, where tomorrow at 18:15 CEST they’ll play their second qualifier – the final one at this stage – for the 2027 European Championship, which will be staged in Albania and Serbia. This afternoon, they’ll hold their final training session ahead of the match at the Stadion Petar Miloševski in Bitola.

BALDINI SPEAKS. The Azzurrini will face a side looking to bounce back after a 3-0 defeat to Poland in Kraków. “North Macedonia and Montenegro are similar teams: physical, hard-running, with plenty of fighters and deep commitment to the jersey. But we mustn’t think of the opponent as our obstacle – they are simply who we must face. The obstacle is ourselves; depending on how we play, we can do well or badly. I'm convinced that we have good, talented players at our disposal, and so they must express that talent. These are players keen to play for the senior national team and in Serie A. Wins come from letting that talent shine – that’s what matters most.” On tactics and the line-up, Baldini left little doubt: “We’ll play with a 4-3-3, but the boys can switch into a 4-2-3-1 on their own, even without me calling it from the bench. We’ll make a couple of changes from the game in La Spezia. These are qualifiers, not friendlies, so no experiments, just adjustments. Motta will start in goal, that’s no secret. I feel for Mascardi, who lost his grandfather. He was devastated – his grandfather used to take him to training as a child, and just two days after seeing him debut for the U21s, he passed away. My condolences go to him and his family. That said, we have an extraordinary group: cheerful, joking, very close with each other. Pisilli and Ndour? I expect the more experienced players to give their all; they have great potential, and they must put that potential to good use for the U21s.”

SINNER AND VOLLEYBALL. Baldini also looked beyond football, reflecting on a Sunday of sport that had his squad glued to the screens. “Anyone who plays sport must know there are two sides to the same coin,” he said, referring to Sinner's defeat in the US Open final. “We all hope for a positive result, but when you lose you should still be happy to have been so involved. There’s no need for drama, and I don’t like the word ‘defeat’; if you tried to win but didn’t succeed, you should still be grateful for the emotions you experienced. Of course, winning is a great feeling, but you must also learn to accept defeat and recognise your opponent’s merits.” That winning feeling could be seen in the eyes of Italy’s women’s volleyball team after their world title: “They have a great coach in Velasco, someone who knows how to connect with his players, and the results of that are evident. Thanks to him, the team can give everything they’ve got – that way, talent doesn’t stay hidden, it comes out at its best.”

DAGASSO. One player who knows Baldini well is Matteo Dagasso: “We started well and now, though there’s another tough game ahead, we’re training hard and we’re confident,” said the Pescara midfielder. “I had a fantastic year with the coach last season. We’re working just as hard now and I’m glad to have him back. He’s exactly the same: demanding with me and with everyone, always pushing us to give our best, with lots of competition within the group. He doesn’t need any introduction: throughout his career, he’s always been himself, exactly as you see him.” That comeback win over Montenegro gave the Azzurrini belief: “We’re a team with character, and that debut victory was all about the group. That’s what we want to build on. At Pescara, too, we won because we were a fantastic group, and all of the coach’s teams are like that. That’s where the difference can be made.”

UEFA European Under-21 Championship Albania-Serbia 2027 | Qualifying

Group E

Matchday 1 (Friday 5 September)

18:00 CEST: Sweden 3-0 Armenia

18:00 CEST: Poland 3-0 North Macedonia

18:15 CEST: ITALY 2-1 Montenegro

Standings: Sweden 3, Poland 3, ITALY 3, Montenegro 0, North Macedonia 0, Armenia 0.

Matchday 2 (Tuesday 9 September)

15:00 CEST: Armenia vs. Poland

18:15 CEST: North Macedonia vs. ITALY

20:00 CEST: Montenegro vs. Sweden