Today is the debut against the Republic of Ireland in the second qualifying phase for the European Championships. The National Under-17 team led by Bernardo Corradi arrived in Cyprus three days ago. Today, at 14:00 CET (15:00 local time), at the Geroskipou Municipal Stadium in Paphos, Corradi's lads will face their Irish peers, a match that will be followed by the games against the other two opponents in Group 6, the hosts Cyprus (10 March) and Ukraine, on Monday 13 March. Two places are available for qualification to the final stages of the continental event, which will be played in Budapest from 17 May to 2 June.

Coached by Colin O'Brian, the Irish national team arrived in Cyprus after having passed the first qualifying phase in Group 10, behind Norway. They normally take to the field in a 4-2-3-1, a typically Anglo-Saxon formation, made up of quantity, considerable physical pressure combined with decent technical qualities. Many of the players play for English teams, and the most representative player is left winger Trent Kone Doherty, who plays for Liverpool's Under-18 team. "We have prepared ourselves to our best, the boys are good and are calm," said Bernardo Corradi, "We are in a beautiful place with an ideal temperature for playing football. We'll see tomorrow the conditions of the pitch but this can be an advantage or a disadvantage for both teams. I told my players that in the second qualifying phase, compared to the first, you normally meet more organised teams, but I told them that if I had to choose between the players of the 4 national teams present, certainly in terms of quality, I would have no doubts: I would choose them". On the difficulties of the match, the Azzurri coach underlines: "A physical team, the Irish one; we are a technical team, it will be a good match."

This is echoed by the Azzurrini's captain, Mattia Mannini, a Roma midfielder, with 20 Under 16 and 17 matches to his credit, who was called up by Mancini for the youth stage at the end of December: "Winning the first match is fundamental in these tournaments - Mattia warns - and in front of us we will have a team that makes full-field pressing its best weapon. The important thing is to stay focused throughout the match and counter their physical qualities with our technical qualities, without giving up an inch on the pitch."

The other match in the group is between Cyprus and Ukraine, at 5pm CET (6pm local time), at the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium in Paphos.

The squad

Goalkeepers: Tommaso Martinelli (Fiorentina), Francesco Plaia (Spezia);
Defenders: Matteo Cocchi (Inter), Fabio De Sole (Torino), Filippo Pagnucco (Juventus), Gabriel Ramaj (Atalanta), Edoardo Sadotti (Fiorentina), Alessandro Ventre (Juventus), Francesco Verde (Juventus);
Midfielders: Andrea Bonanomi (Atalanta), Francesco Crapisto (Juventus), Mattia Liberali (Milan), Mattia Mannini (Roma), Leonardo Mendicino (Atalanta), Lorenzo Riccio (Atalanta), Marco Romano (Genoa);
Attackers: Federico Ragnoli Galli (Atalanta), Emanuele Rao (Spal), Tommaso Ravaglioli (Bologna), Filippo Scotti (Milan).

Coach: Bernardo Corradi

Goup 6 fixtures: Italy, Repubblica d’Irlanda, Cipro e Ucraina

Tuesday 7 March

ITALY vs. Republic of Ireland, at 15:00 (14 CET), Geroskipou Municipal Stadium – Paphos;

Cyprus vs. Ukraine, at 18:00 ( 17 CET), Stelios Kyriakides Stadium - Paphos;

Friday 10 March

ITALY vs. Cyprus, at 15:00 (14 CET), Stelios Kyriakides Stadium – Paphos;

Ukrainevs. Republic of Ireland, at 15:00 (14 CET), Geroskipou Municipal Stadium – Paphos;

Monday 13 March

Ukraine vs. ITALY, at 15:00 (14 CET), Geroskipou Municipal Stadium – Paphos;

Republic of Ireland vs. Cyprus, at 15:00 (14 CET), Stelios Kyriakides Stadium - Paphos.

The opponents

The Republic of Ireland finished the first qualifying phase in second place in Group 10 behind Norway thanks to a win against Armenia (4-0) and two draws with Belarus (2-2) and Norway (1-1). Previous matches against Italy: 4 wins for the Azzurrini, 3 draws, 2 defeats.

Cyprus got through the first qualifying round by finishing second in Group 11 behind Serbia. A three-team group, Cyprus achieved a win against Gibraltar (2-0) and a loss against Serbia (3-1). The record against Italy sees three wins for the Azzurrini and one draw.

Ukraine got through the first phase by finishing first in Group 2 thanks to two wins against Azerbaijan (5-2) and Liechtenstein (7-0) and a draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-1). Against Italy, the Ukrainians have lost four times, drew once and won three times.