The U21s received an extraordinary welcome in Latina after arriving in the provincial capital for the match against San Marino. At the Stadio Domenico Francioni, starting at 16:45 CEST, the Azzurrini will resume the task of qualifying for next year’s EURO 2025 in Slovakia. They will do it in Lazio, with whom FIGC has signed a partnership agreement (presented last year during the EURO 2024 at Casa Azzurri in Iserlohn, Germany), which will also see Italy U20s face Germany in Rieti (Elite League, Tuesday 10 September, 16:00 CEST) and the A Team take on Belgium in Rome (Nations League, Thursday 10 October).

The match, which follows a meeting with Norway in Stavanger on Tuesday (18:30 CEST), was presented at a press conference held in the town hall of Latina, in the presence of Elena Palazzo, Lazio’s Councillor for Sport, Tourism and Environment, Matilde Celentano, Mayor of Latina, Andrea Chiarato, Councillor for Sport, Sabrina Cenciarelli, Special Commissioner of ASL Latina, Giovanni Valentini, Vice-Secretary-General and person i/c Area Revenue of FIGC, Giancarlo Antognoni, Delegation Leader of the National Under-21s, and Carmine Nunziata, Head Coach. Below are the speeches:

Elena Palazzo, Lazio’s Councillor for Sport, Tourism and Environment: “I am particularly proud to introduce this special meeting because apart from having the honour of being Councillor for Lazio, I am also a native of this province. This is an extraordinary sporting occasion and a relaunch of our region. I could not have executed this vision alone - teamwork is fundamental and I thank Mayor Celentano and Councillor Chiarato for their hard work in making all this happen. I want to thank Commissioner Cenciarelli for the visit to Santa Maria Goretti Hospital, adding a societal dimension to this sporting occasion. I also want to thank the FIGC, the team, and Coach Nunziata for their valuable time. I want to thank Giovanni Valentini for a great collaboration, signing this agreement that brought this Under-21 match and other events to Lazio, uniting sporting and touristic promotions. Everyone in our Region has the right to experience these emotions. Sport is the most important tool we have to shape the conscience of the next generation.”

Matilde Celentano, Mayor of Latina: “It is an absolute honour to host Italy’s Under-21s in Latina for the first time since 1993, and for this, I thank Councillor Andrea Chiarato who was key to making all this happen, and also Councillor Elena Palazzo, with whom we had a seamless collaboration. The Under-21s’ choice to host a game here in Latina is a big opportunity to promote the region, as it allows us to exhibit the beauty of our city. I thank FIGC for choosing an accessible pricing policy, and for bringing sport and society closer together with the visit to the hospital. The players are the young patients’ stars and idols, and there is no better way to cheer them up. The city is buzzing with energy right now: tomorrow’s game will be a big occasion and I am proud to have succeeded in executing this plan.”

Andrea Chiarato, Councillor for Sport in the Comune of Latina: “Everyone deserves high praise for pulling off one of our city’s biggest-ever sporting events, but I would like to single out Councillor Elena Palazzo, who deserves the gratitude of our whole city. I want to thank the FIGC and the team and congratulate them on the professionalism of their staff. It would be nice to see tricolour flags on all the balconies tomorrow, just like when the senior team plays.”

Giovanni Valentini, Vice-Secretary-General and the FIGC’s Head of Revenue: “From the very first moment, the Regional Government of Lazio and the FIGC worked together with a single goal in mind. This agreement with the Lazio Region goes way back and this match in Latina is particularly worth celebrating. We will then move to Rieti, and then Rome after that with the finals of the Youth and Scholastic Sector, which supports young footballers and at the same time increases regional revenue directly or indirectly, with more than 2000 families expected to arrive from all over Italy. Italy have always promoted the excellence of our Country: whilst in Germany we signed agreements with different Ministries and we will continue to work with the Lazio Region with pleasure. This is a project that goes beyond the realms of sport.”

Giancarlo Antognoni, Delegation Leader of Italy Under-21: “I am very happy to be here. I left the National Team in 2016, and it was great to rejoin the family in 2024. We players from the '60s to the '80s should set an example with our behaviour because our boys already excel at playing football. At the moment the Under-21s are achieving good results and we hope to qualify for the EUROs in Slovakia. We won the Under-17 and Under-19 EUROs, and we hope to follow with the Under-21s. We represent our country when we play and the boys therefore have to represent the country on the field. We have an important task tomorrow and we are happy to be in Latina. I know Latina’s coach Pasquale Padalino well and I wish his team all the best. It is exciting to come to this city and we aspire to entertain the fans.”

Carmine Nunziata, Italy Under-21 Head Coach: “We are really proud to come and play in Latina. The Under-21s have always been a team that spends its time in all the Italian regions and that is beautiful. We are a team that has to learn to show respect, loyalty, and communal spirit. I am enjoying the energy and the same at the stadium tomorrow will be important for the players. We are above all grateful for the hospital visit: we are fortunate to call football our work, if it is work at all. But there are people in the hospital who are struggling at the moment and to bring a message of hope to them is very meaningful to us. We will treat the match against San Marino as any other and we will do our best to go home with three points.”

Sabrina Cenciarelli, Special Commissioner of ASL Latina: “I want to thank President Rocca and Councillor Palazzo of the Lazio Region for this occasion. The government gave all their support to make this important event happen. Having Italy U21 in Latina reminds the residents about the importance of having a healthy lifestyle, of which sports is an important part. This is a chance to strengthen the cooperation between the Lazio Region, The Comune of Latina, FIGC and ASL of Latina. The hospital visit is a unique opportunity to convey a positive message and the support of relevant bodies in moments of suffering. Furthermore, during the match tomorrow, between 15:00 and 19:00 in the square opposite the stadium, there will be preventative cardiological and oncological screening available to the public. Every euro invested in preventative measures stops chronic illnesses in the future.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Jacopo Sassi (Modena), Gioele Zacchi (Latina);
Defenders: Giovanni Bonfanti (Pisa), Diego Coppola (Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Verona), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Pirola (Olympiacos), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Nicolò Savona (Juventus), Riccardo Turicchia (Catanzaro), Davide Veroli (Sampdoria), Mattia Zanotti (Lugano);
Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Roma), Alessandro Bianco (Fiorentina), Edoardo Bove (Roma), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Jacopo Fazzini (Empoli), Cher Ndour (Besiktas), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Matteo Prati (Cagliari), Franco Tongya (Salernitana);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Frosinone), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Luca Koleosho (Burnley), Antonio Raimondo (Venezia)

2025 UEFA EURO UNDER-21 QUALIFYING - GROUP A

Thursday 5 September
16:00 CEST – Latvia vs. Norway
16:45 CEST – ITALY vs. San Marino (Latina)

Friday 6 September
18:45 CEST – Türkiye vs. Republic of Ireland

Tuesday 10 September
18:00 CEST – Republic of Ireland vs. Latvia
18:30 CEST – Norway vs. ITALY (Stavanger)
20:30 CEST – San Marino vs. Türkiye

Table (number of games played in brackets): ITALY (7) 15 points, Republic of Ireland (6) 13, Norway (6) 12, Latvia (6) and Türkiye (6) 7, San Marino (7) 0

ITALY’S NEXT FIXTURES
Tuesday 15 October: ​​Italy vs. Republic of Ireland