The Under-19 national team's defence as reigning European Champions, won a year ago in Malta, officially started yesterday in Rome at the Giulio Onesti Olympic Training Centre. Smiling faces and hugs were greeted upon arrival at the Acqua Acetosa CPO, with the first training session under Bernardo Corradi's leadership taking place in the late afternoon. The squad, staff and delegation will fly from Fiumicino to Dublin today, staying at the Hotel Europa in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland and venue of the competition. The first training session is scheduled for Saturday morning at Paisley Park.

CORRADI. After meeting the lads in Rome, Corradi held two sessions on the CPO pitch named after Gianluca Vialli, which were attended not only by the national youth teams coordinator, Maurizio Visicidi, but also by Daniele Franceschini and Massimiliano Favo, coach of Italy's Under 18s and Under 17s, respectively, the latter being crowned European champions in Cyprus. “We're well," began Corradi. "We've made the right approach to the event: in the two sessions in Bolzano we focused on fitness preparation, but now it's time to start thinking about the mental aspect. These two things must go hand in hand. The focus will have to grow day after day, reaching peak status for the opener against Norway." The Scandinavian team will be the first obstacle in Italy's path: “A tough opponent, who are halfway through their league campaign and in the middle of the season, therefore are definitely in optimal athletic condition. We will have to try, as in the other matches, to dominate the ball, because if we don't then we'll need to run more. We want to keep possession of the ball and move it around quickly because, as an old coach of mine used to say, the ball doesn't sweat." With the Euros in sight, the aim is clear: “Let's think as a group and as a system. For the Federation and for the Italian football movement, the Under-20 World Cup would be an important goal (the top two teams in the groups qualify automatically, as well as the winner of the play-off between the third-placed teams, ed.), then it is obvious that each of us in the isolation of our room think about the big goal, but let's take it one step at a time. In the meantime, we want to get through the groups, qualify for Chile 2025, thus protecting ourselves from any type of trouble. Then, once we have reached this objective, we will think about the rest" concluded Corradi.

SCHEDULE AND TV. The Azzurrini will make their debut on Monday 15 July at 16:30 CEST against Norway (Seaview Stadium, Belfast), while on Thursday 18 they will face Northern Ireland (20:00 CEST at Inver Park in Larne), ending their group stage  against Ukraine on Sunday 21 (20:00 CEST in Larne). The top two in the group will go through, qualifying both for the semi-finals (scheduled for Thursday 25 July) and the Under-20 World Cup, to be held in Chile in 2025, while the third-placed teams will have to battle out a play-off to determine the fifth European team to qualify for the next event. Italy's matches will be broadcast on RaiPlay.

FRIENDLIES. Meanwhile, the first friendlies of the new season have been made official. The Under-19 national team will face Slovenia in a double header: the first match is scheduled for 6 August (18:00 CEST) at the Stadio Giuseppe Morigi in Manzano (UD), with the second game two days later (11:00 CEST) in Ajdovščina in Slovenia.

Squad List

Goalkeepers: Federico Magro (Lazio), Renato Bellucci Marin (Roma);

Defenders: Davide Bartesaghi (Milan), Fabio Cristian Chiarodia (Borussia Monchengladbach), Christian Corradi (Hellas Verona), Vittorio Magni (Milan), Filippo Calixte Mane (Borussia Dortmund), Filippo Pagnucco (Juventus);

Midfielders: Aaron Ciammaglichella (Torino), Luca Di Maggio (Inter), Jonas Harder (Fiorentina), Luca Lipani (Sassuolo), Mattia Mannini (Roma), Marco Romano (Genoa), Kevin Zeroli (Milan);

Forwards: Lorenzo Anghelè (Juventus), Francesco Camarda (Milan), Tommaso Ebone (Milan), Simone Pafundi (Lausanne), Diego Sia (Milan).

Staff – Head coach: Bernardo Corradi; Head of Delegation; Gianfranco Serioli;National Youth Teams coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Secretary: Aldo Blessich; Assisant coach: Mirco Gasparetto; Fitness coach: Marco Montini; Goalkeeping coach: Graziano Vinti; Match analyst: Francesco Donzella; Doctors: Paolo Manetti and Cristiano Benelli; Nutritionist: Micol Purrotti; Physiotherapists: Giuliano Gepponi and Andrea Cantera; Press officer: Matteo Santi; Administrative office: Marinella Diaco; General services: Carlo Fanano.

UEFA EURO UNDER-19

Group A: Northern Ireland (hosts), Norway, Italy (holders), Ukraine
Group B: Demark, Türkiye, France, Spain

MATCHDAY 1

Group A, Monday 15 July
Italy vs. Norway, 16:30 CEST | Seaview Stadium, Belfast
Northern Ireland vs. Ukraine, 20:00 CEST | Inver Park, Larne

Group B, Tuesday 16 July
Denmark vs. Spain, 16:30 CEST | Inver Park, Larne
France vs. Türkiye, 20:00 CEST | Seaview Stadium, Belfast

MATCHDAY 2

Group A, Thursday 18 July
Norway vs. Ukraine, 16:30 CEST | Seaview Stadium, Belfast
Northern Ireland vs. Italy, 20:00 CEST | Inver Park, Larne

Group B, Friday 19 July
Denmark vs. France, 16:30 CEST | Inver Park, Larne
Türkiye vs Spain, 20:00 CEST | Seaview Stadium, Belfast

MATCHDAY 3

Group A, Sunday 21 July
Norway vs. Northern Ireland, 20:00 CEST | Seaview Stadium, Belfast
Ukraine vs. Italy, 20:00 CEST | Inver Park, Larne

Group B, Monday 22 July
Türkiye vs. Denmark, 20:00 CEST | Seaview Stadium, Belfast
Spain vs. France, 20:00 CEST | Inver Park, Larne

WORLD CUP UNDER-20 PLAY OFF

Thursday 25 July
3rd in Group A vs. 3rd in Group B, 17:30 CEST | Seaview Stadium, Belfast

SEMI-FINALS*

Thursday 25 July

S1: Winner of Group A vs. 2nd in Group B
S2: Winner of Group B vs. 2nd in Group A

*The matches will be played at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast at 15:00 and 20:00 CEST. The order of the semi-finals will be decided after the group stage.

FINAL

Sunday 28 July
S1 winner vs. S2 winner, 20:00 CEST | National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast