Brazil, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic will be Italy's opponents at the Under-20 World Cup, which will be held in Argentina from 20 May to 11 June following FIFA's decision to strip Indonesia of the right to stage it. Italy, in Pot 1 alongside Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, France and Senegal, were drawn alongside the Brazilians (five-time U20 World Champions, with their last title coming in 2011), the Nigerians (finalists in 1989 and 2005) and the Dominicans, who are set to make their first appearance in the competition.

“We couldn’t have been put in a more difficult group,” said Coach Carmine Nunziata. “At the same time, I don’t think our opponents will be happy to face us. “We’ve had to get used to unfavourable draws in the past couple of editions of the tournament, but we’ve always managed to rise to the challenge. We’ll go for it again.”

In order to prepare for the World Cup, the U20s will hold a training camp at the Centro Sportivo Villaggio Azzurro in Granozzo con Monticello (NO) from Sunday 23 to Tuesday 25 April. 24 players have been called up for it, 16 of whom were born in 2003, five in 2004 (Mastrantonio, Stivanello, Hasa, Maressa and Raimondo), two in 2005 (Lipani and Esposito) and one in 2006, Simone Pafundi, who has already made his debut for the senior side. “This training camp will be helpful in terms of making assessments for the 55-man preliminary squad we have to submit to FIFA,” explained Nunziata. “Then, when the time comes to naming the 21 players who’ll be involved in the tournament, I’ll make my choices based on the players’ availability.”

Italy managed to reach the semi-finals in the last two editions of the competition. In 2017, the Azzurrini finished third in South Korea following a penalty shootout victory over Uruguay. In 2019, meanwhile, they didn’t quite make the podium after losing out to Ecuador in extra time in a year that saw Ukraine beat South Korea in the final. Nunziata’s side, who will play their group stage games in Mendoza, will face Brazil on Sunday 21 May, Nigeria on Wednesday 24 May and the Dominican Republic on Saturday 27 May, with the kick-off times still to be confirmed.

FIFA UNDER 20 WORLD CUP 2023
Group A: Argentina, Uzbekistan, Guatemala, New Zealand
Group B: United States, Ecuador, Fiji, Slovakia
Group C: Senegal, Japan, Israel, Colombia
Group D: ITALY, Brazil, Nigeria, Dominican Republic
Group E: Uruguay, Iraq, England, Tunisia
Group F: France, South Korea, Gambia, Honduras

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UNDER 20 NATIONAL TEAM – Squad for training camp at Novarello (23-25 April)

Goalkeepers: Davide Mastrantonio (Triestina), Pietro Passador (Torino), Jacopo Sassi (Giugliano);
Defenders: Andrea Ceresoli (Mantova), Andrei Coubis (Milan), Filippo Fiumanò (Aquila Montevarchi), Daniele Ghilardi (Mantova), Luigi Palomba (Cagliari), Thomas Sandon (Vicenza), Riccardo Stivanello (Bologna), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus);
Midfielders: Niccolò Cavuoti (Cagliari), Samuel Giovane (Ascoli), Luis Hasa (Juventus), Luca Lipani (Genoa), Tommaso Maressa (Juventus), Simone Pafundi (Udinese); Matteo Prati (Spal), Federico Zuccon (Lecco);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino di Bruttopilo (Cittadella), Leonardo Cerri (Juventus), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Daniele Montevago (Sampdoria), Antonio Raimondo (Bologna)

Staff – Head Coach: Carmine Nunziata; Assistant Coach: Emanuele Filippini; Fitness Coach: Vito Azzone; Goalkeeping Coach: Fabrizio Ferron; Match analyst: Marco Mannucci: Doctor: Vito Caiolo; Physiotherapist: Giuseppe Galli; Scout: Claudio Coppi; Secretary: Aldo Blessich