The Under 21 National Team’s adventure in the qualifying group for the 2025 Euros started with a draw. Carmine Nunziata’s team created several chances in Jurmala, however, they just could not find the final finish: the match against Latvia ended 0-0. “We could have done a lot better, we paid for poor physical condition and poor quality of passing,” analysed Nunziata. “We were slow and not very precise: we had chances to score but we didn’t take advantage of them, we only showed quality in flashes.  However, it's not all to be thrown away: we expected a better start, but we saw some good things. There is work to be done and now it is my turn.” With the game in Latvia behind them, the national team will take off for Turkey on Saturday morning: 18:30 CEST on Tuesday, in Kocaeli, the second match against the Turks.

THE MATCH. Nunziata, forced to do without Turicchia and Baldanzi, started the match with Zanotti, Ghilardi, Pirola and Ruggeri in front of Desplanches; Bove, Prati and Casadei in the middle of the field with Miretti behind Oristanio and Nasti. Casadei, MVP of the Under 20 World Cup, had the first chance: the Leicester midfielder struck the ball with his thigh from Miretti’s corner but was unable to find the goal. Another Italian chance with Bove: a right-footed shot wide to the left of Beks, who was ready in 28' standing tall to block Oristanio’s shot one-on-one, perfectly played through by Miretti. In search of a speed of ball and execution that this early stage of the season cannot yet guarantee, Italy relied again on a shot from the distance by Bove before the interval, but again the shot went wide. 

Nunziata’s first two changes came in the 53rd minute: Oristanio and Nasti off for Esposito and Colombo and a new attacking pairing. Shortly afterwards, however, Italy risked conceding with a free kick from Vapne, which hit the post to Desplanches' right. Ndour also came on for Miretti in the 60th minute. With 20 minutes to go, Colombo unsuccessfully attempted to convert a cross from Ruggeri; the other newcomer, Esposito, was also dangerous, heading from Prati’s corner, but he was unable to finish. Another header, this time from Casadei in 82’, from Ruggeri’s cross but the ball flew over the bar. Italy tried to push to the very last minute, but Ndour’s 92nd-minute effort was saved by the feet of Beks, securing the sharing of the spoils. 

LATVIA 0-0 ITALY
LATVIA (4-2-3-1): Beks; Novikovs, Kudejkins, Sliede, Maslovs; Vientiess, Meiniks; Kauselis (38' SH Anmanis), Vapne (26' SH Melnis), Rascevskis (26' SH Melkis); Lizunovs (40' SH Puzirevskis). Unused subs.: Vilkovs, Reingolcs, Patijcuks, Ostapenko, Zaleiko. Coach: Basovs

ITALY (4-3-1-2): Desplanches; Zanotti, Ghilardi, Pirola, Ruggeri; Bove, Prati, Casadei; Miretti (15' SH Ndour); Oristanio (8' SH Esposito), Nasti (8' SH Colombo). Unused subs: Zacchi, Panada, Kayode, Guarino, Coppola, Fazzini. Coach: Nunziata

REFEREE: Levy (Israele). (Talis, Frenkel, IV Papir)
BOOKINGS: Bove (I), Oristanio (I), Kauselis (L), Melnis (L)

UEFA EURO UNDER 21 2025 - GROUP A
Thursday 7 September
San Marino 0-7 Norway
Friday 8 September
Latvia 0-0 Italy
Ireland-Turkey (20.30)
Standings (matches played in brackets): Latvia (2) 4, Norway (1) 3, Italy (1) 1, Ireland (1), Turkey (0), San Marino (2) 0

ITALY'S SCHEDULE
Tuesday 12 September (18.30 CEST): Turkey-Italy (Kocaeli)
Wednesday 17 October (17.45 CEST): Italy-Norway (Bolzano)
Thursday 16 November: San Marino-Italy
Tuesday 21 November: Ireland-Italy
Friday 22 March 2024: Italy-Latvia
Tuesday 26 March 2024: Italy-Turkey
Thursday 5 September 2024: Italy-San Marino
Tuesday 10 September 2024: Norway-Italy
Tuesday 15 October 2024: Italy-Ireland

The Schedule
Saturday 9 September
10:00 CEST flight from Riga to Sakarya and transfer to the Wyndham Izmit
16:30 CEST training (open to the press)

Sunday 10 September
10:30 CEST  training (open to the press)
13:00 CEST player press conference (Zoom and in person)

Monday 11 September
11:00 CEST Nunziata press conference (Zoom and in person)
17:00 CEST training at the Izmit Stadium, Kocaeli (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

Tuesday 12 September
18:30 CEST Turkey vs. Italy (Izmit Stadium, Kocaeli)
Followed by a press conference (Zoom and in person), flights from Sakarya to Milan Malpensa and Roma Fiumicino and the disbandment of the group