With three months until the Euros, the National Under 21s are ready for two games ahead of the finals of the tournament that will see Paolo Nicolato's team in Georgia and Romania from June 21 to July 8 in a group composed of Norway, Switzerland and France. Italy will face Serbia on Friday 24th March in Backa Topola (kick-off at 18:00 CET) and Ukraine on Monday 27th (kick-off at 20:00 CET) at the stadio 'Oreste Granillo' in Reggio Calabria, which is preparing to welcome back the Under 21s after more than 21 years since the last match, against Poland in 2001, in the European Championship qualifiers and ended 0-0.

For these two games, Nicolato has called up 26 players, five of whom are receiving their first call-up: defenders Diego Coppola and Niccolò Pierozzi, midfielders Bruno Zapelli and Giovanni Fabbian, and forward Tommaso Baldanzi. The National Under-21 team will assemble on the evening of Sunday 19 March in Rome, will train the following day at the 'Giulio Onesti' Olympic Preparation Centre and on Tuesday 21 will leave for Serbia, returning to Italy on the morning of Saturday 25 - after the friendly match in Backa Topola - straight to Reggio Calabria, where the Ukrainian delegation will be guests of the FIGC.

Past meetings. Italy have faced the Serbian side six times: it is very even, with two wins for each side and two draws. The last game between Serbia and Italy was a friendly on 27 March 2018, played in Karadjordje and won 1-0 by Italy thanks to Luca Vido's goal. Against Ukraine, on the other hand, there are four previous meetings: three wins for Italy, one for the Ukrainians, with the last meeting dating back to March 2013, when the Azzurrini won 1-0 in a friendly in Bassano del Grappa thanks to Ciro Immobile's goal.

 

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Elia Caprile (Bari), Marco Carnesecchi (Cremonese), Stefano Turati (Frosinone);

Defenders: Raoul Bellanova (Inter), Andrea Cambiaso (Bologna), Diego Coppola (Verona), Matteo Lovato (Salernitana), Caleb Okoli (Atalanta), Fabiano Parisi (Empoli), Niccolò Pierozzi (Reggina), Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Mattia Viti (Nizza);

Midfielders: Edoardo Bove (Roma), Cesare Casadei (Reading), Salvatore Esposito (Spezia), Giovanni Fabbian (Reggina), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Volendam), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Bruno Zapelli (Belgrano);

Attackers: Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Matteo Cancellieri (Lazio), Lorenzo Colombo (Lecce), Samuele Mulattieri (Frosinone)