Dauda Amihere Iddrisa’s story began in his living room, where, as a child, he played football with his brother Anas, angering his dad, Daude, after whom he is named, and his mum, Charlotte. Tomorrow, that ‘living room’ will be the newly renovated Stadio Nereo Rocco, which will stage Italy vs. Spain, the final match of the 'Città di Trieste' international tournament.

“Wearing the Italy shirt is special,” said the young West Bromwich Albion defender. “It allows me to represent the country I was born and grew up in before I moved to England.” His move to England meant he had to get used to a different kind of football: “Tactically, English football is less organised than in Italy, where it’s difficult to find long-ball teams or players who take more than three touches.” It’s a different approach, but Iddrisa has found inspirational figures to look up to: Jude Bellingham (“he started off at Birmingham, not far from where I live, before becoming one of the best players in the world) and Jayson Molumby (“he plays in my position for the first team and I’d like to acquire some of his qualities”).

Born in Brescia on 8 January 2008, Iddrisa joined his first club - Uso Inzino – aged six (“my mother was fed up with me ruining our furniture at home, so she signed me up there.”). In 2016, he moved to England due to family work reasons and, after playing for Smethwick Rangers for three seasons, became a West Bromwich Albion player in 2019.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Matteo Farronato (Inter), Sebastiano Nava (Juventus);
Defenders: Leonardo Noah Bovio (Inter), Samuele Carlaccini (Roma), Pantaleo Cretì (Monza), Dauda Amihere Iddrisa (West Bromwich Albion), Alessio Insignito (Spezia), Isaac Collins Isoa (Atalanta), Thomas Lissi (Inter), Mattia Marello (Udinese);
Midfielders: Cristian Acatullo (Sassuolo), Christian Comotto (Milan), Vincenzo Damiano (Atalanta), Kevin Vitale Moressa (Inter), Matteo Oliveira Papaccioli (Como), Vincenzo Prisco (Napoli), Federico Steffanoni (Atalanta), Marco Tiozzo Pagio (Juventus);
Forwards: Danilo Busiello (Empoli), Thomas Campaniello (Empoli), Samuele Inácio (Borussia Dortmund), Simone Lontani (Milan).

Staff – Head Coach: Massimiliano Favo; National Youth Team Vice Coordinator: Daniele Zoratto; Men’s Goalkeeping Area Coordinator Coordinatore: Gaetano Petrelli; Assistant Coach: Marco Scarpa; Fitness Coach: Adalberto Zamuner; Goalkeeping Coach: Cristiano Lupatelli; Match Analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Doctors: Andrea Serdoz and Alessandro Carducci; Physiotherapists: Giorgio Giannini and Enrico Matera; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; Press Office: Alessandro Paoli; Secretary: Massimo Petracchini.

'CITTÀ DI TRIESTE' UNDER-17 INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

Teams: ITALY, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland

Matchday 1 (Tuesday 3 September)
Spain 6-1 Switzerland 
ITALY 2-0 Portugal

Matchday 2 (Friday 6 September)
Portugal 0-1 Spain
ITALY 2-2 Switzerland

Table: Spain 6, ITALY 4, Switzerland 1 and Portugal 0.

Matchday 3 (Monday 9 September)
16:30 CEST – Switzerland vs. Portugal, Stadio Comunale in Monfalcone (GO)
20:00 CEST – ITALY vs. Spain, Stadio Nereo Rocco in Trieste