From the 30-degree heat in Latina to the 15-degree heat in Stavanger. The U21s, who will take to the pitch in Euro qualifying at 18:30 CEST on Tuesday, have been greeted by weather conditions that are much more suitable for such a crucial match. The team’s opponents will also be different: from San Marino to Jan Peder Halland’s Norway, who sit three points behind Italy but with a game in hand. The Republic of Ireland also have a game in hand over the Azzurrini, who will face the Irish in Trieste on 15 October. “We’re expecting to face a completely different team compared to San Marino,” said Head Coach Carmine Nunziata. “We’ll be up against an organised side with good players. It’ll be a tough and difficult match, and we’ll have to play in the same way as we have in all the others: with the intensity, desire and determination to achieve an objective that, for us, is very important.”

Prati and Fazzini haven’t departed for Norway, although Tommaso Baldanzi is with the team: “It’s disappointing to have lost two important players,” continued Nunziata. “However, we have other players who, if called upon, will do well. Our idea is to change a few small things, but we still have a training session to make our assessments.” After a slow start, Italy went on to score seven goals, just like they did in the reverse fixture in Serravalle: “The team are doing well,” added Nunziata. “We’re at the start of the season. Not everyone is playing, but the motivation of reaching an objective makes you give something extra. We hope the lads find consistency and get playing time throughout the campaign. When you show them your trust, they repay it.”

Italy will be hoping for more goals from Pio Esposito, who bagged four against San Marino in Latina (“He did something that doesn’t often happen, but we have a lot of important players”), in these final 180 minutes: “We knew it’d be a difficult group with many good teams involved. We need to stay focused on our objective, which is to qualify for the Euros.”

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 (Fiorentina), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Cher Ndour (Besiktas), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Franco Tongya (Salernitana);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Frosinone), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Antonio Raimondo (Venezia)

2025 UEFA EURO UNDER-21 QUALIFYING - GROUP A

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 (8) 18 points, Republic of Ireland (7) 16, Norway (7) 15, Latvia (7) and Türkiye (7) 7, San Marino (7) 0

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