The pre-Euros meeting of the National Under-19 team ended today at Coverciano. It was an intense four days that Alberto Bollini used to iron out the last knots regarding the players that from 3 to 16 July, in Malta, will play in a European championship. The selection concerned 7 of the 27 players present at the stage: "Our goal" said the Azzurri coach "is to bring the boys to have the sense of the group, something that has distinguished us this year, a group that slowly, slowly became a team. These guys had to skip European experiences because of the covid but I'm very happy with the way they coped, both for their commitment and their behaviour. Now my experience as a coach tells me, all confirmed by the technological tools, that the boys have three different levels of preparation and our first task will be to standardise their physical condition as much as possible. Another of our objectives is to give them our certainties, which are the game, the sense of the group and the shirt, so that they can face the upcoming tests in the best possible way. The group in which we are placed is made up of teams like Malta, who train like a club, at least three, four times a week; Portugal has been in training since 12 June and Poland has had an equally long retreat. However, we will go into this fixture with our certainty, our strong motivation and" Bollini concludes "with the great satisfaction of having reached this goal'.   

The 20 players called up are all born in 2004 except for Fabio Chiarodia - recently transferred from Werder Bremen to Borussia Monchengladbach -, Luca Lipani (Genoa) and Pio Esposito(Inter), all three born in 2005. The latter two, along with Niccolò Pisilli and Giacomo Faticanti of Roma, youngsters who Bollini has reconfirmed his trust in for this continental tournament, were runners up in the Under-20 World Cup, as they were part of the recent Argentinian expedition that ended in second place behind Uruguay.

The Azzurrini have been placed in Group A together with Malta (Monday 3 July at 21_00 CEST), Portugal (Thursday 6 July at 18:00 CEST) and Poland (Sunday 9 July at 18:00 CEST) and the three matches will be played in Tà Qali (National Stadium the first and third; Centenarium Stadium the second). The other group, Group B, consists of Iceland, Greece, Norway and Spain. The first two from the groups qualify directly for the semi-finals scheduled for Thursday, 13 July; the final will be played on Sunday, 16 July.

Italy's matches will be broadcast live by Rai Sport.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Davide Mastrantonio (Triestina), Lorenzo Palmisani (Frosinone);
Defenders: Andrea Bozzolan (Milan), Fabio Christian Chiarodia (Borussia M.), Alessandro Dellavalle (Torino), Lorenzo Dellavalle (Juventus), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Filippo Missori (Roma), Iacopo Regonesi (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Lorenzo Amatucci (Fiorentina), Giacomo Faticanti (Roma), Luca Lipani (Genoa), Cher Ndour (PSG), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma);
Forwards: Luca D'Andrea (Sassuolo), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Luis Hasa (Juventus),Luca Warrick Daeovie Koleosho (Espanyol), Nicolò Turco (Juventus), Samuele Vignato (Monza).

Staff - Coach: Alberto Bollini; National Youth Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Group leader: Evaristo Beccalossi Assistant coach: Enrico Battisti; Goalkeeper coach: Davide Quironi; Athletic coach: Marco Montini; Match Analyst: Francesco Donzella; Medics: Paolo Manetti and Andrea Redler; Nutritionist: Micol Purrotti; Physiotherapist: Giuliano Gepponi and Angelo Cartocci; Press correspondent: Giuseppe Ingrati; Administrator: Andrea Ottaviani; Secretary: Luca Gatto