The Under-20 World Cup is about to get underway with Argentina meeting Uzbekistan. The hosts have won this age-group's tournament the most number of times (six) and are among the favourites to lift the trophy this year, too. With 24 teams divided into six groups and 503 players participating - all born after 2003 - these are numbers that promise a special event, as past tournaments have shown, thanks to the quality of players on display who have gone on to make history in the game (the full schedule can be found below). Placed in Group D, Italy are playing in their third consecutive edition (third in 2017 in South Korea; fourth in 2019 in Poland) and will face Brazil in their opening game on Sunday at the Malvinas Argentinas stadium in Mendoza, a match that will be shown live on Rai 2 at 23:00 CEST (18:00 local time). Leading the side is Carmine Nunziata, who last year with his lads reached the European semi-finals in Slovakia, earning them a place in this World Cup. Passage through to the Round of 16 goes to the top two in each group and the four best third-placed teams. Following Brazil, the Azzurrini will take on Nigeria on Wednesday 24 May (live on Rai Sport at 20:00 CEST) and then the Dominican Republic on Saturday 27 May (live on Rai Sport at 20:00 CEST). Once the groups are done with, the knockout stages will proceed with the Round of 16 starting on 30 May, the quarters from 3 June, the semi-finals on 8 June, and the final, which will be preceded by the 3/4th place play-off game, on 11 June.

Brazil reappear in the competition after missing out on qualification in the two previous editions. Former Head Coach and midfielder of Vasco de Gama, Ramon Menenez, is in charge, and took part in the 1991 U20 World Cup, finishing second behind Portugal. His national team have won the South-American Sub 20 (beating Uruguay 2-0 in the final) with the winning goal by Andrey Santos, a 2004-born midfielder who played in the first team of Vasco at just the age of 17, before being sold to Chelsea (yet to play due to visa issues). He is captain of the side, but will be forced to miss their opening game due to suspension. Brazil play with a 4-2-3-1 formation, that attack with many players but do leave some space at the back. They have players who dribble and have a lot of technical skill on the ball,  carrying on the philosophy of the Brazilian way of playing. There have been two previous meetings between the sides, with Brazil running out victorious on both occasions.

“It'll be a tough game," said Azzurri Head Coach Nunziata, "because besides playing against a strong team, it is also our opening game of a huge competition so it will be vital we get a positive result and give everything we have."

After featuring heavily in last year's European championships in Slovakia in July, leading the side out on Sunday will be Cesare Casadei. His contribution gave the Azzurrini a big hand in qualifying for this tournament and together with his teammates does not want to miss the opportunity to impress here, too: “A World Cup is always a World Cup and I think that it is going to give me so much from a personal and sporting point of view." Brazil are up first in an extremely difficult yet compelling encounter: “We all know the technical quality of Brazil: they are a strong side with lots of individual quality and who like to get into one-on-one situations. So we'll have to do well to impose our game on them and stop them from playing; this is what we're working on in preparation for the game. Our strength is the group, we all know each other now for a long time and this fixture, which is a piece of history in football, is motivating us to get off to a good start and look to go deep into the competition."

Squad List

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Trento); Jacopo Sassi (Giugliano Calcio), Gioele Zacchi (Sassuolo);

Defenders: Filippo Fiumanò (Aquila Montevarchi); Alessandro Fontanarosa (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Mantova), Samuel Giovane (Ascoli), Gabriele Guarino (Empoli), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (Inter);

Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Cesare Casadei (Reading F.C.), Duccio Degli Innocenti (Empoli), Giacomo Faticanti (Roma), Luca Lipani (Genoa), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Matteo Prati (SPAL);

Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino Di Bruttopilo (Cittadella), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Daniele Montevago (Sampdoria), Simone Pafundi (Udinese).

Staff - Head of Delegation, Marcello Nicchi; Manager: Gianfranco Serioli ; Assistant Head Coach, Emanuele Filippini; Fitness Coach, Vito Azzone; Goalkeeping Coach, Fabrizio Ferron; Match Analyst, Marco Mannucci; Observer, Claudio Coppi; Doctors, Carmelo Papotto and Lorenzo Ticca; Physiotherapist, Giuseppe Galli and Tommaso Cannata; Nutritionist, Alessio Colli; Secretary, Aldo Blessich; Press Officer, Giuseppe Ingrati; Administration, Francesco Casella; Club Italia, Matteo Galdelli; Logistics, Carlo Fanano.

Groups and Cities

Group A: Argentina, Uzbekistan, Guatemala, New Zealand (Santiago del Estero);

Group B: Usa, Ecuador, Fiji, Slovakia (San Juan);

Group C: Senegal, Japan, Israel, Colombia (La Plata);

Group D: ITALY, Brazil, Nigeria, Dominican Republic (Mendoza);

Group E: Uruguay, Iraq, England, Tunisia (La Plata);

Group F: France, South Korea, Gambia, Honduras (Mendoza).

Group D schedule

Sunday 21 May

Nigeria vs. Dominican Republic at 15:00 local time, Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
ITALY vs. Brazil at 18:00 local time (23:00 CEST, live on Rai 2), Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza;

Wedensday 24 May
ITALY vs. Nigeria at 15:00 local time (20:00 CEST, live on Rai Sport), Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
Brazil vs. Dominican Republic, alle 18 locali, Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza

Saturday 27 May
Brazil vs. Nigeria at 15:00 local time, La Plata
Dominican Republic vs. ITALY at 15:00 local time (20:00 CEST, live on Rai Sport), Stadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza

DOWNLOAD THE FULL SCHEDULE HERE

History

(number of Under-20 World Cups won)

Argentina (six), Brazil (five), Portugal (two), Serbia (two), Ghana (one) Spain (one), Russia (one), Germany (one), England (one), France (one), Ukraine (one, current champions).