"Calabria will know how to get behind us”. Alberto Bollini remembers the atmosphere almost a year and a half ago at the Stadio Nicola Ceravolo in Catanzaro like it was yesterday. On that day, the U20s beat Poland in an Elite League match in front of 8000 people. Bollini is back in Calabria, but this time with an Under-19 side that, within a week’s time, between Crotone and Catanzaro, will play the Elite Round for EUROs qualification. The schedule will kick off on Wednesday at 17:00 CET at the Scida against Latvia, then on Saturday at 17:00 CET against Spain and on Tuesday 25 at 15:00 CET against Germany. The latter slides were the finalists in last year’s final and it was Spain who won the title, a year after Italy’s win in 2023 with Bollini as manager. Spain and France will play each other in the coming days at 14:00 CET at the San Vito-Gigi Marulla stadium in Cosenza.

The Coach said: “The boys are proud to wear the Italy shirt, and even more so in front of a crowd. The support will give us a huge push: we will see many families, children, and the excitement in the stadium will boost us, especially because everyone will be rooting for the Italian colours”. Italy had a three-game winning record (without conceding) in the first phase against Montenegro, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bar has been raised with a group of boys born in 2006, 2007 and 2008, with four debutantes (Fellipe Jack, Rispoli, Venturino and the latest arrival Agbonifo, who has replaced the injured Mosconi). They all received best wishes of good luck from those who weren’t available due to injury, notably Riccio, Mannini and Romano.

Bollini stated: "The elimination round was not easy, but we did really well and we transformed a group into a team. The Under-19s, in terms of schedule, has become just like the senior team or the Under-21s, with many commitments including the league, Coppa Italia and Youth League. We have less time to work together so we must pass on to them all that it means to represent this shirt, especially because this Elite Round has the same difficulty of opponents as a European final. When there was the draw, only Brazil was missing, but of course they’re not European: this should give us even more drive to give our best for Italy”.

OPPOSITION. Before playing Spain and France, we will be up against Latvia, who have a few players that compete in Italy (the goalkeeper Henrijs Auseklis for Cagliari, the defenders Kristofers Baumanis for Sondrio, Timurs Azarovs for Monza and the forward Roberts Kukulis for Inter). They finished in third place in the group in the first phase. “The bar has gone up for all national teams”, said Bollini. “Latvia are a very physical side, they have some great wide players and they are a threat from set-pieces, therefore we must pay 100% attention throughout the match. We will have to work hard to win”

TICKETS. Entry to the stadiums that will host Italy’s three matches, and Spain vs. France, will be free on presentation of an entry pass downloadable on the following links and on figc.vivaticket.it.

For France vs. Latvia and Latvia vs. Spain, access will be open until all spaces run out.

AIAC EVENT. The team trained today in Catanzaro; but throughout the day yesterday, the Italy Youth Coordinator Maurizio Viscidi held an event for managers which took place at the Federal Training Centre’s conference hall in Catanzaro, organized by AIAC Calabria and LND Calabria. The basis of the meeting was tactical training, analytical and/or global methodologies, tactical progression, the build-up and dribbling, and much more.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION. Journalists, photographers and others who wish to request access to the stadium and to restricted areas can send an email with subject "Accredito media Elite Round Under 19" to press@figc.it and m.calabresi@figc.it, indicating the company that you work for and the matches that you would like access to. The deadline for press accreditation will be at 19:00 CET on the night before the match.

PRESS CONFERENCE. Before Italy’s two matches at Catanzaro against Spain and France, there will be a press conference on Friday 21 March at 15:00 CET at Calabria Regional Committee’s headquarters. The conference will include Catanzaro’s Mayor, Nicola Fiorita, from the LND, the President of Calabria Regional Committee, Saverio Mirarchi, the head of Italy Under-19s Delegation, Gianfranco Serioli, the manager, Alberto Bollini, as well as one player.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Tommaso Martinelli (Fiorentina), Alessandro Nunziante (Benevento);
Defenders: Niccolò Fortini (Juve Stabia), Giovanni Leoni (Parma), Vittorio Magni (Milan), Andrea Natali (Bayer Leverkusen), Fellipe Jack Ozilio Moreira Pacheco (Como), Filippo Pagnucco (Juventus), Matteo Giuseppe Plaia (Perugia);
Midfielders: Richi Agbonifo (Hellas Verona), Federico Coletta (Roma), Mattia Liberali (Milan), Leonardo Mendicino (Cesena), Fabio Rispoli (Virtus Verona), Emanuele Sala (Milan), Lorenzo Venturino (Genoa);
Forwards: Francesco Camarda (Milan), Giacomo De Pieri (Inter), Jeff Ekhator (Genoa), Seydou Fini (Excelsior Rotterdam)

Staff - Manager: Alberto Bollini; Head of Delegation: Gianfranco Serioli; Youth Sector Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant Manager: Matteo Barella; Fitness Coach: Nicolò Varesco; Goalkeeper Coach: Francesco Antonioli; Match analyst: Luca Dalmasso; Doctors: Francesco Maria Nifosì, Luigi Cianni; Physios: Giuseppe Galli, Simone Siciliano; Nutritionist: Alessio Colli; Tutor: Alessandro Milani; Communication: Marco Calabresi; Secretary: Aldo Blessich

UEFA UNDER-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - ELITE ROUND, GROUP 5

MATCHDAY 1 (Wednesday 19 March)

14:00 CET: Spain vs. France (Cosenza, Stadio San Vito-Gigi Marulla)
17:00 CET: ITALY vs. Latvia (Crotone, Stadio Ezio Scida, live on Vivo Azzurro TV)

MATCHDAY 2 (Saturday 22 March)

14:00 CET: France vs. Latvia (Cosenza, Real Cosenza Sports Centre)
17:00 CET: ITALY vs. Spain (Catanzaro, Stadio Nicola Ceravolo, live on Vivo Azzurro TV)

MATCHDAY 3 (Tuesday 25 March)

15:00 CET: France vs. ITALY (Catanzaro, Stadio Nicola Ceravoli, live on Vivo Azzurro TV)
15:00 CET: Latvia vs. Spain (Cosenza, Real Cosenza Sports Centre)