It is an important day for the National Under-21 team, who will play their penultimate match before the European Championship in June at Backa Topola against Serbia on Friday at 18:00 CET. The big test in Romania and Georgia is approaching, with the Azzurrini having this match and the one on Monday 27th in Reggio Calabria against Ukraine to convince coach Paolo Nicolato to include them in the list of 23 that will leave for Cluj, the venue for the three group matches against Norway, Switzerland and France. "But I think it is wrong to talk about experimentation," Nicolato began at the presentation press conference. "We just have to try to get to know the players we have at our disposal. The choices I will make for these two matches do not depend so much on the opponent as on giving opportunities to all the guys we have, since they won't have any more between now and the European Championship. Everyone has shown me great desire, but the field is another thing and the level of the European Championship is higher than the one we have faced so far and we will find that in these two matches".

Turati, Fagioli and Fabbian are not at their best, but Nicolato demands pace from everyone: "The ability to raise the tempo is a prerogative of those with quality, and it is a determining factor. Speed is important at international level and I need to understand, in addition to the technical qualities, at what rhythm those qualities are expressed. Everyone is good at playing at a low pace, the reality is that the game is won above all by the pace at which certain movements are performed. On quality, we have no problems". One certainty, from a tactical point of view, is the three-man midfield: "We started with the 4-3-3, then we switched to the 3-5-2. But in general I want to choose a group of players who don't depend on a system of play: we must be able to change system. We will start with the 3-5-2, but I don't exclude other solutions. What we must always keep in mind are the principles of play".

Between May and June, Italy will be involved in the Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia, the Under-21 European Championships in Romania and Georgia, and the Nations League Finals with the senior men's team. "I am thinking systemically, not selfishly," Nicolato explains. "We will understand which players are indispensable for us, which ones we can leave to the Under-20s and which ones will be called up for the men's team in June. However, I see the fact that we have to become a team in a short time as a difficulty. We did a first phase with a consistent group and a second phase in which we had to explore other options: this is the biggest challenge because we weren't able to always work on the same team. Every time we have at least 10-12 players different to the previous. But we have to give it our all, even beyond our possibilities".

The message is clear for those in Serbia: "The team knows how demanding I am and they know how much I do not accept any behaviour other than that of focusing on the collective aim of our work". A judgement also on Serbia: "I expect great movement, technical qualities and talent from them. We have to bring value to the performance, to improve more and more. Raising the level of performance raises the possibility of getting results".


Live streaming. The matches against Serbia and Ukraine will be streamed live on the FIGC website and on the social media profiles of the men's national team (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok).

Ticketing. Tickets for the match on Monday 27 against Ukraine can be purchased at Vivaticket sales points and on the websites figc.vivaticket.it and vivaticket.com.

Exhibition in Reggio Calabria. Reggio Calabria will be the venue for the first stage of 'Sfumature d'Azzurro' (Shades of Blue), the new travelling exhibition of the Football Museum that will accompany the home matches of the National Under-21 team in 2023. The exhibition will tell the story of the history and triumphs of the men's senior national team together with those of the Azzurri youth national teams and the Olympic national team, thanks to a selection of memorabilia from the Coverciano Museum collection. The World cup won at the 2006 competition in Germany and the European Championship won at Wembley in 2021 will be present. Free admission.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Elia Caprile (Bari), Alessandro Sorrentino (Monza), Stefano Turati (Frosinone);
Defenders: Raoul Bellanova (Inter), Andrea Carboni (Venezia), Antonino Gallo (Lecce), Matteo Lovato (Salernitana), Caleb Okoli (Atalanta), Fabiano Parisi (Empoli), Niccolò Pierozzi (Reggina), Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Destiny Iyenoma Udogie (Udinese), Mattia Viti (Nizza), Alessandro Zanoli (Sampdoria);
Midfielders: Edoardo Bove (Roma), Cesare Casadei (Reading), Salvatore Esposito (Spezia), Giovanni Fabbian (Reggina), Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Bruno Zapelli (Belgrano);
Forwards: Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Matteo Cancellieri (Lazio), Lorenzo Colombo (Lecce), Samuele Mulattieri (Frosinone), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Volendam)

The schedule
Thursday 23 March
17.00 CET training (open to press for the first 15 minutes)

Friday 24 March
18.00 CET Serbia vs ITALY (Stadio TSC Arena–Backa Topola)
followed by post-match press conference via Zoom and in person and transfer to Falkensteiner Hotel in Belgrade

Saturday 25 March
10.30 CET charter flight from Belgrade to Reggio Calabria and transfer to the Reggio Calabria Continental Hotel
17.00 CET training (closed)

Sunday 26 March
10.30 CET training (closed)
13.45 CET Nicolato press conference (Zoom and in person)
18.30 CET walk around the stadium

Monday 27 March
20.00 CET ITALY vs Ukraine (Stadio O. Granillo–Reggio Calabria)
followed by a post-match press conference via Zoom and in person and, then, the group disbands.