Ushered in by the National Under-19, Under-18 and Under-17 August friendlies, the Azzurri season continues next week with the National Team, the Under-21 team and the Under-20 team. The first of which will take to the pitch for the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the second for Euro 2023 qualifiers and the third for a friendly against Serbia. The squad lists for all three teams will be announced on Friday 27 August.

NATIONAL TEAM. After an exciting Euro 2020 win, Italy returns to the field to resume their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying journey, which began last March with three wins in three games, giving the Azzurri the lead in Group C with 9 points. Switzerland lie second with six points, but have only played two matches. The match against Switzerland (Basel, "St. Jacobs Park" stadium, September 5 at 20:45 CEST) could decide the fate of the group, in a schedule that includes another two games that shouldn’t be underestimated: Bulgaria (Florence, "Artemio Franchi" stadium, September 2 at 20:45 CEST) and Lithuania (Reggio Emilia, "Stadio del Tricolore" stadium, September 8 at 20:45 CEST). The Italian path towards Qatar 2022 will end in November, with the return leg against Switzerland at the Olimpico in Rome (12th) and the last away match in Belfast against Northern Ireland (15th). In the meantime, the Azzurri await the Nations League Finals in October, when the Euro semi-final against Spain will be replayed, with Belgium and France on the other side of the bracket.

In their 20 previous meetings with Bulgaria, Italy have won eleven matches (the last one in the first leg in Sofia, 2-0), drawn seven and lost two. There have been 59 matches played against Switzerland between 1911 and 2021, with a balance in favour of Italy (29 wins, 22 draws and only eight defeats). The Azzurri have also played against Lithuania, having won five times (the last one in Vilnius in March, 2-0) and drawn twice.

UNDER-21 NATIONAL TEAM. After the disappointment being knocked out by Portugal in the last European Championships quarterfinals, a new journey begins. The side will start a two-year period to qualify for Euro 2023, facing Luxembourg and Montenegro. The "Carlo Castellani" stadium in Empoli and the "Romeo Menti" stadium in Vicenza will host the two matches, scheduled for September 3 and 7.

The Azzurrini return to Empoli ten years after the last ninety minutes played on 8 February 2011 during a 1-0 friendly win over England. The Under-21 side has played six matches in Vicenza, five for the European Championship qualification and one, the most recent, a friendly against Tunisia on 15 October 2018. While there’s only been one previous match against Montenegro – a friendly win on 4 June 2014 – there have been twelve matches played against Luxembourg. The Under-21 team has won them all.

NATIONAL UNDER-20 TEAM. The next match for the National Under-20 team will be against Serbia in a friendly scheduled for September 6 at the 'Teofilo Patini' stadium in Castel di Sangro. Alberto Bollini’s team, who didn’t play in the World Cup this year due to the pandemic, will be back on the pitch three months after their last match, which they won 1-0 against San Marino.