Three days of hard work to fine tune the team and prepare for the final two tests before the European Championship finals in Slovakia. The Under-21 National Team are ready to take to the pitch at the Pier Luigi Penzo in Venice (18:15 CET), where they’ll face the Netherlands ahead of another friendly against Denmark in Cittadella on Monday. While Francesco Pio Esposito has had to leave camp due to a calf issue, “the rest of the group is motivated and doing well,” said Carmine Nunziata. The Head Coach continued: “I’ll try a few things out and test some players in different positions. They’re our final tests, and if we want to try something new, it has to be done now.”

Nunziata had a clear message: “If we want to achieve results, we need a common objective, a style of play and intensity. With these three factors, we can do well.” As regards the Netherlands, the Head Coach had the following to say: “They’re a technical team and move with intensity. However, we’re in good shape, and, as I said a few days ago, I’d like to start seeing the team get into the European Championship mindset, displaying the right mentality. The match in Venice will be a great game between two sides who play good football. It’ll be an exciting spectacle.”

The Head Coach then spoke about two individuals, namely Baldanzi and Miretti: “Baldanzi is working really well. He’s always ready, which is very important. Given what he represents for us, Tommaso is an important player. Miretti is such an intelligent player that he can play in any position. Tomorrow, he’ll play in the centre of midfield.”

Nunziata also commented on Luciano Valente, who was born in Groningen but has represented Italy at youth level in recent years: “In today’s game, these dynamics exist. When you have more than one passport, things can change until you represent a national team at senior level.”

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Jacopo Sassi (Crotone), Gioele Zacchi (Latina);
Defenders: Samuele Angori (Pisa), Nicolò Bertola (Spezia), Diego Coppola (Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Verona), Marco Palestra (Atalanta), Lorenzo Pirola (Olympiacos), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (Lugano);
Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Roma), Alessandro Bianco (Monza), Issa Doumbia (Venezia), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Fabio Miretti (Genoa), Cher Ndour (Fiorentina), Simone Pafundi (Udinese), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Matteo Prati (Cagliari), Christian Volpato (Sassuolo);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Frosinone), Sebastiano Esposito (Empoli), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Luca Koleosho (Burnley)