Certaldo, Azzurri and Europe. No, we’re not talking about Luciano Spalletti, like it may seem, but Thomas Campaniello, one of the Under-17 Azzurrini forwards. Tomorrow at 19:30 CEST at the AEK Arena in Larnaca, he and his teammates will play their debut game in the Euros campaign in Group C against Poland.

The 2008-born forward underlined: “It is wonderful to be here. To be ‘promoted’ from the Under-16 to the Under-17 side is a big milestone both for me and my family who, like me, were pleasantly surprised about my call-up for the Euros given my age: I am very proud and determined to pay back the trust that coach Favo has placed in me”. Trust that, given Francesco Camarda’s suspension, could mean he plays straight away in the game against Poland. It’s a special fixture for him given his mother, Dora, is from Szczecinek. He said: “She’ll be rooting for me like she did last season when we played the Under-15 side at Coverciano. I also scored to make it 1-0 in that game (Italy 3-1 Poland, 30 May 2023): if I am called into action, I hope to repeat it”.

Born on 29 February 2008 in Certaldo, Florence, to father Nicola and mother Dora, he began to play football at 5 years old at amateur club, Certaldese. He entered the Empoli youth sector in 2015 after a summer camp at the club. He played two finals in two seasons with them, the Under-14 Pro and the Under-15 Serie A and B, losing to Inter both times. This year he has picked up 18 goals in 20 games with the Under-16 side and 1 goal in 6 games for the Under-17s. He said: “I am taking things relaxed. The only thing I’m thinking about is working hard to improve and listening to my coaches’ advice. We can hold our own in Cyprus”. Campianello, in his sort of personal derby with Poland, could start the competition holding his own.

UEFA European Under-17 Championship

Group stage

Group A: Cyprus, Ukraine, Serbia, Czechia.
Group B: Denmark, Austria, Croatia, Wales.
Group C: ITALY, Sweden, Slovakia, Poland.
Group D: France, Portugal, Spain, England.

Group C schedule

Matchday 1 (Tuesday 21 May)

17:00 CEST: Slovakia vs. Sweden, Paralimni Municipal Stadium Tasos Markou in Paralimni
19:30 CEST: ITALY vs. Poland, AEK Arena in Larnaca

Matchday 2 (Thursday 24 May)

17:00 CEST: ITALY vs. Slovakia, Dasaki Achnas Stadium in Dasaki
17:00 CEST: Sweden vs. Poland, AEK Arena in Larnaca

Matchday 3 (Monday 27 May)

17:00 CEST: Sweden vs. ITALY, Paralimni Municipal Stadium Tasos Markou in Paralimni
17:00 CEST: Poland vs. Slovakia, Dasaki Achnas Stadium in Dasaki

Knockout phase

Quarter-finals (Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 May)

Semi-finals (Sunday 2 June)

Final (Wednesday 5 June)