Italy and England will lock horns once again when they face each other tomorrow at 17:00 CEST at the Ntc Senec stadium in Slovakia. Nearly a year to the day, it was Mancini’s team that won the Euros, but this youth encounter might just conjure up reasons for revenge. The Azzurrini are coming up against a team in fine form with an impressive set of results behind them: eight wins and a draw (v Austria), and only one goal conceded in the two phases of qualification and the tournament itself. In the English ranks, Dane Scarlett, striker for Tottenham, has a ratio of a goal a game in his twelve international appearances this season, and Carney Chukwuemeka, with five goals, played twelve times in the Premier League last season for Aston Villa. These two players between them have got more than 50% of the goals scored from the whole squad (31). So far in the tournament, the Young Lions have beaten Austria 2-0, Serbia 4-0 and Israel 1-0, and finished top of Group B.

Italy meanwhile are in good form themselves, after winning seven and drawing once in the two qualifying phases. They finished second in Group A, behind France, and so far in Slovakia have beaten Romania 2-1, the hosts 1-0 but lost to France 4-1, earning them a place in the semi-finals. This result has also automatically given them a spot in the Under-20 World Cup finals next year in Indonesia, but tomorrow’s game for the young stars, under the guidance of Carmine Nunziata, presents another obstacle to overcome in this tournament: “in front of us is a real tough test” – warns the Italy coach – “England are a strong team with great physical and technical attributes, and with a neat and tidy style of play. But we are also strong and tomorrow we want to show our quality, too” Nunziata will have all the squad available for selection.

Just under a year ago at Wembley, Roberto Mancini led Italy to the European Championship final win against England. Fabio Miretti was with his family and girlfriend in front of the TV: “At the beginning, we couldn’t quite understand why Donnarumma, after his penalty save, didn’t burst into celebration. As soon as we realised we had won the Euros, we went straight to Saluzzo to celebrate with friends. We were so overjoyed”. Tomorrow, there’s the game: “Yeah, it’s a different kind of emotion that you share with your team-mates. We know we are facing a really strong team, physically and technically able, but we have a strong team too, and we are ready for the challenge, aware that we have what it takes to get to the final”. The will to win: “Yes, after reaching our aim of getting to the Under-20 World Cup in only two games, we now put all our focus and quality into our performance to get to this final, and emulate the result of the First Team squad under Mancini”.

The second semi-final is between France and Israel tomorrow, 28 June, at the DAC Arena in Dunajská Streda, kick off 20:00 CEST.

With Italy, England, France and Israel all sealing qualification for the Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia next year, third-placed teams in their respective groups, Austria and Slovakia, will meet each other in the play-offs to decide the fifth team to take part in the international tournament next May. The game will also be played tomorrow at the Trnava Stadium at 17:00 CEST.

Previous Under-19 meetings against England: one win, three draws, two defeats

Number three in the European rankings, one position above Italy, England have conceded only one goal in their last nine official UEFA matches, and in the qualifying stages knocked out number one in the rankings, Portugal. They are a solid, organised team and play with physicality, giving very little away to the opposition. They play a 3-4-2-1 system that is efficient, tending to choose substance over style. In the squad is the leading scorer in the tournament so far, number 9 Dane Scarlett, with eight goals, but it is also the team with the meanest defence with only one goal conceded in nine games. Players to look out for are: number eight Carney Chukwuemeka (twelve appearances for Aston Villa); number eleven and captain, Harvey Vale (13 goals for Chelsea Under-23s); number seven and left-winger, Alfie Devine (Tottenham Under-23s), a talent with lots of skill, and number two, Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Arsenal Under-23s), who possesses strong athletic qualities. Some other players have had experiences this season in the Championship and League 1, England’s second and third division, respectively, such as: number 14, Alex Scott (38 appearances); number three, Callum Doyle (36 appearances); number five, Ronnie Edwards (34 appearances), and number four, Tim Iroegbunam (debut at the end of the season for Aston Villa – 3 appearances). All the other squad members play in the Under-23 league, that possesses quality and trains up players. Interesting fact: 17-year old Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Samuel Iling (a player with pace and power who could be very dangerous coming off the bench) are the only players who ply their trade abroad, at Borussia Dortmund and Juventus Under-19, respectively.