“This is our job; we have to be present.” Just a few hours after the Azzurri’s return to Italy following their friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador in the USA, Luciano Spalletti was in Ferrara to watch the U21s take on Türkiye in Euro qualifying. “There are several players who are in contention for the first team and could have taken part in our US friendlies,” Spalletti told Rai 2. “Nunziata and I work together: we’re constantly in touch and work in the same way. I’m also close to Bollini with the U20s.”

For this international window, a decision was made for some players to remain with the U21 side so they could be involved in the team’s qualifying matches: “The U21 National Team is an extension of the senior side. We had two friendlies and the option of experimenting and approaching things in a different way. Nunziata’s side are playing for qualification, so we let him choose with the importance of these qualifiers in mind.” Various youngsters are on Spalletti’s radar as the Euros approach: “It depends on what they show us out on the pitch and on our thinking in terms of how we want to put together the squad. It’s up to them to show that they really care about the National Team, and values such as professionalism, humility and courage are part of this.”

Today, both the U19s and U17s both qualified for the Euro finals: “For the fifth consecutive year, these two sides will be involved in their respective final tournaments,” concluded the Head Coach. “This testifies to the good work the Federation is doing at youth level.”