The Under-18 National Team, who became the first Italy side to wear the new adidas shirt when they faced Spain in January, are ready to take to the pitch again for a friendly double-header: the first game will take place at the Stadio Alfredo Viviani in Potenza on Thursday 23 March, while the second fixture is scheduled for Sunday 26 March at the Stadio Donato Curcio in Picerno. Both matches will kick off at 10:30 and be broadcast live on the FIGC website.

Daniele Franceschini has called up 23 players (20 born in 2005 and three – Bakoune, Cissé and Fini – in 2006), who will meet up in the evening on Sunday 19 March in Salerno. The day after, they will make their way to Basilicata, a region that hasn’t hosted a National Team match since the U21s’ defeat to Denmark in Matera in 2014. While they’ve never taken to the pitch in Picerno, the U18s have played in Potenza in 1993 (a 2-0 defeat to Hungary). That team featured a very young Alessandro Del Piero.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Federico Magro (Lazio), Francesco Di Bartolo Zuccarello (Udinese);
Defenders: Adam Bakoune (Milan), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Luigi D'Avino (Napoli), Saer Diop (Bologna), Alessandro Milani (Lazio), Marco Palestra (Atalanta), Lorenzo Romani (Fiorentina), Filippo Saiani (Spal);
Midfielders: Leonardo Bovo (Inter), Kevin Bruno (Sassuolo), Aaron Ciammaglichella (Torino), Luca Di Maggio (Inter), Vincenzo Onofrietti Teixeira (Borussia Dortmund), Fabio Parravicini (Spal), Daniele Quieto (Inter), Manuel Rosetti (Bologna);
Forwards: Alessandro Bolzan (Roma), Alphadjo Cissé (Hellas Verona), Nicolò Franzoni (Spal), Seydou Fini (Genoa), Matteo Mazzone (Wolfsburg). 

Staff – Head Coach: Daniele Franceschini; Assistant Coach: Matteo Barella; Fitness Coach: Nicolò Varesco; Goalkeeping Coach: Pasquale Pastore; Match Analyst: Andrea Zappavigna: Doctors: Alessandro Carducci and Lorenzo Sapegno; Physiotherapist: Andrea Cantera; Secretary: Fabio Ferappi