One final step needed to qualify. For the Under-21 National team, the time has come to finish off months of hard work. At 18:30 CEST on Tuesday 15 October, at the Stadio Nereo Rocco in Trieste, Carmine Nunziata’s side, who just need to avoid defeat, will take on the Republic Ireland with the aim of securing their spot in the European Championship finals to be held in Slovakia in the summer of 2025.

Italy, who will only play one match in this final qualification window, could be mathematically confirmed as the group winners on Thursday 11 October, when the Republic of Ireland face Norway at home. Should the Norwegians win – Italy ran out 3-0 winners in Norway last time out thanks to a Tommaso Baldanzi hat-trick – the Azzurrini would secure qualification with four days to spare. The nine group winners and the three best runners-up (not counting results against sixth-placed teams) will qualify directly for the final tournament. The other six runners-up will progress to the November play-offs for the last three finals spots.

A new face in the 26-man squad named by Nunziata is 19-year-old Atalanta defender Marco Palestra. Meanwhile, Empoli defender Mattia Viti is back in the U21 setup for the first time in one and a half years. However, the Head Coach will have to make do without the suspended Diego Coppola (Verona). The team will gather at the Tirrenia Olympic Preparation Centre in the evening of Sunday 6 October and get down to work the next day. On Thursday 10 October, the team will play a friendly against Livorno (Serie D) at 15:00 CEST.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Jacopo Sassi (Modena), Gioele Zacchi (Latina);
Defenders: Nicolò Bertola (Spezia), Giovanni Bonfanti (Pisa), Daniele Ghilardi (Hellas Verona), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Marco Palestra (Atalanta), Lorenzo Pirola (Olympiacos), Nicolò Savona (Juventus), Riccardo Turicchia (Catanzaro), Mattia Viti (Empoli), Mattia Zanotti (Lugano);
Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Roma), Alessandro Bianco (Monza), Edoardo Bove (Fiorentina), Cesare Casadei (Chelsea), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Jacopo Fazzini (Empoli), Fabio Miretti (Genoa), Cher Ndour (Besiktas), Matteo Prati (Cagliari);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Frosinone), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Luca Koleosho (Burnley)

2025 UEFA EURO UNDER-21 QUALIFYING - GROUP A

Friday 11 October
18:30 – Türkiye vs. Latvia
20:00 Republic of Ireland vs. Norway

Tuesday 15 October
18:30 – ITALY vs. Republic of Ireland
18:30 – Norway vs. Türkiye
18:30 – San Marino vs. Latvia

Table (number of games played in brackets): ITALY (9) 21 points, Republic of Ireland (8) 17, Norway (8) 15, Türkiye (8) 10, Latvia (8) 8, San Marino (9) 0