The U21s are set to hold their first session today as they prepare to resume their European qualifying journey: at 18:15 CET on Friday, the Azzurrini will take to the pitch in Cesena to face a Latvia side who held them to a goalless draw in Jurmala on 8 September. Since then, Italy have won three and picked up a precious point away to the Republic of Ireland in their last match. Carmine Nunziata’s team currently sit top of their group with eleven points, one ahead of the Irish and two in front of Norway.

In their next two matches against Latvia and Türkiye (Tuesday 26 March at the Stadio Paolo Mazza in Ferrara), the Azzurrini will be looking to extend their lead at the top, all the while aware that they can’t afford to become distracted if they want to qualify: “Two vital matches await us,” said Nunziata in the press conference that kicked off the training camp in Cesenatico. “In the next three or four days, we’ll need to get back to doing all the good things we’ve done and improve where we haven’t done quite so well.” The only regret so far is the draw in Latvia: “We dropped two points there. Other than that, it’s been positive. The lads are doing well, even if we could do better in certain respects.”

The U21s last took to the pitch on 21 November, when Willy Gnonto, who bagged a brace that day, scored a stoppage time equaliser against the Republic of Ireland: “We haven’t seen the lads for four months,” said Nunziata. “This is why I’ve named a few more players in my squad: I want to assess how everyone is doing given that a few of the guys have recently had injuries.” Nunziata, who is satisfied with the number of minutes his players have been getting (“a lot of them have been playing a lot, they’re young and it isn’t easy to keep on taking to the pitch in Serie A and Serie B”), will be able to count on players who have already experienced the senior setup: “Spalletti takes great interest in the U21s and all the national youth teams. Given that we’ll be involved in two qualifying matches, he decided to leave them with us.”

The only new face in Nunziata’s 28-man squad is Luis Hasa, a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for Juventus Next Gen: “He’s someone who has made his way up through the youth ranks. Last year, he became a European Champion with the U19s and is doing well. He’s here because he has some important qualities. I decided to call him up so I can better assess him and see how he is with the others.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Filippo Rinaldi (Olbia), Gioele Zacchi (Giana Erminio);
Defenders: Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Diego Coppola (Hellas Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Sampdoria), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (San Gallo)
Midfielders: Alessandro Bianco (Reggiana), Edoardo Bove (Roma), Cesare Casadei (Chelsea), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Jacopo Fazzini (Empoli), Luis Hasa (Juventus), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Cher Ndour (Braga), Matteo Prati (Cagliari), Franco Tongya (Aek Larnaca), Cristian Volpato (Sassuolo);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Catanzaro), Tommaso Baldanzi (Roma), Lorenzo Colombo (Monza), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Cagliari).

2025 UEFA EURO UNDER 21 QUALIFYING - GROUP A

All times CET

Friday 22 March
18:00 – San Marino vs. Republic of Ireland
18.15 – ITALY vs. Latvia

Tuesday 26 March
17:00 – Norway vs. San Marino
18.15 – ITALY vs. Türkiye

Table (number of games played in brackets): ITALY (5) 11 points, Republic of Ireland (5) 10, Norway (5) 9, Latvia (7) 5, Türkiye (5) 6, San Marino (5) 0

ITALY’S NEXT FIXTURES

Thursday 5 September: Italy vs. San Marino
Tuesday 10 September: Norway vs. Italy
Tuesday 15 October: Italy vs. Republic of Ireland