From Rieti to Frosinone, Germany to England. The U20s will return to the Stadio Benito Stirpe for the second home game of the Elite League: kick-off at 17:00 CEST. and live coverage on RaiSport (free entry, access to the East Stand). The match, like the Italy vs Belgium Nations League game that evening at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, is part of the cooperation agreement signed between the FIGC and Lazio. “The boys feel a great sense of responsibility in wearing the Italy  shirt, and I think that is a wonderful thing," said coach Bernardo Corradi. “It is right for the FIGC to make this kind of agreement, because the Italy team is everyone's heritage and it is nice to carry it around the whole of Italy.”

While Italy began their Elite League campaign with a home win over the Czech Republic before losing to Germany, England began their campaign with a draw in Turkey before winning in Romania. “England are one of those teams that get results, that have importance, so it's a source of pride for us to be able to play a game like that here in a beautiful stadium, which the boys have seen. We'd like the crowd to come and see us and we're hoping for a good game. We have studied England: they are a physical team, very fast. We are used to dominating the game. So we'll try to be aggressive and gain possession. The other national teams are working with the U-21s in mind, while we are the only elite league team with a shot at the World Cup. Although it has been postponed by a few months (it will be played between September and October 2025- Ed.), the task remains to prepare for the World Cup, also by experimenting with new solutions and expanding the group. As it is a FIFA competition but not on the FIFA calendar, there is the unknown of whether we will have everyone available. So the more players we can use, the better.”

On the pitch, there will be a number of players who have found their place in their respective first teams at this early stage of the season: "Those who have the opportunity to play and train with the first teams have a level of attention and preparation, also in their approach to training and the game, that is more akin to senior level football," explains Corradi. “It is our hope that some clubs have started to embrace the idea of having a second team, and that clubs like Frosinone are focusing on the youngsters, because if you look at the results of the youth teams, it has been very positive. It just takes a bit of courage and the knowledge that when you put a young player on the pitch with more enthusiasm than perhaps experience, mistakes can happen, but no one has ever improved without making a mistake".

Among the youngsters on show, there is one - Matteo Cichella - who will feel like he is playing at home. “It will be a very strong emotion for me to play in this stadium in the Italy shirt," said the Frosinone midfielder. These games help you physically and mentally, because you are playing against important opponents at the international level. This is a great moment for me; a lot of things have changed since the beginning of the year: I am starting to play with Frosinone and the national team. It is like a dream for me and I will try to do my best.” Matteo Cocchi (Inter) will be missing from the squad. After the game against England, Italy will travel to Portugal on Saturday, where they will face the Portuguese on Monday 14 October in Coimbra at 18:00 CEST (live on Vivo Azzurro TV).

 

The Squad List

Goalkeepers: Federico Magro (Verona), Lorenzo Torriani (AC Milan);

Defenders: Adam Bakoune (AC Milan), Davide Bartesaghi (AC Milan), Fabio Christian Chiarodia (Borussia Monchengladbach), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Christian Corradi (Verona), Riyad Idrissi (Modena), Raphael Kofler (South Tyrol);

Midfielders: Thomas Berenbruch (Inter Milan), Matteo Cichella (Frosinone), Luca Di Maggio (Perugia), Jonas Harder (Fiorentina), Alberto Manzoni (Atalanta), Lorenzo Menegazzo (Bologna), Kevin Zeroli (AC Milan);

Forwards: Lorenzo Anghelè (Juventus), Tommaso Ebone (Bologna), Ismael Konaté (Empoli), Simone Pafundi (Lausanne), Dominic Vavassori (Atalanta). 

Staff - Coach: Bernardo Corradi; Head of Delegation: Gianfranco Serioli; Technical assistant: Mirco Gasparetto; Athletic coach: Marco Montini; Goalkeeping coach: Graziano Vinti; match analyst: Francesco Donzella; doctors: Paolo Manetti, Cristiano Benelli; physiotherapists: Giuliano Gepponi, Angelo Cartocci; nutritionist: Andrea Carolina Striglio; Secretary: Luca Gatto.

ELITE LEAGUE 2024-25, SCHEDULE
Already played

Romania 2-3 Germany
Czech Republic 1-2 ITALY
Turkey 1-1 England
Portugal 2-1 Poland
ITALY 0-3 Germany
England 2-0 Romania 
Czech Republic 0-0 Turkey

Thursday 10 October
17:00 CEST ITALY vs England (Frosinone, live on RaiSport)
17:00 CEST Cechia-Romania
18:00 CEST Turkey vs. Portugal 

Friday 11 October
17.30 CEST Germany vs. Poland

Monday 14 October

18:00 CEST Portugal vs. Italy (Coimbra, live on VivoAzzurro TV)
19:00 England vs. Czech Republic

Standings (games played between the brackets): Germany (2) 6, England (2) 4, Portugal (1) and ITALY (2) 3, Turkey (2) 2, Czech Republic (2) 1, Poland (1) and Romania (2) 0

NEXT GAMES FOR ITALY 
Friday 15 November: Poland vs. ITALY
Tuesday 19 November: ITALY vs. Romania
Thursday 20 March: Turkey vs. ITALY