In the friendly with England, Nicolò Rovella had an emotional day: it was his first game as Under-21 captain. The Monza midfielder received a red card at the end of the game for two bookable offences but it didn't spoil the day: "It was a great honour to captain the side," he said in his post-match press conference. "We are a close-knit group who know each other well after several years together coming the various age levels. I'm sorry for the sending off: I apologised to the referee, the players, and to my teammates. Unfortunately, the competitive nature and the will to succeed bring about incidents like the one where I was carded. I'll need to be aware of this in the Euros next year."

Post-match, Head Coach Paolo Nicolato expressed his pride and delight in the team, despite the defeat: "The first ten-fifteen minutes we were taken a bit by surprise, which is something new for us as we have mainly faced lower-quality teams compared to England. But after, we were the better side, leaving aside the result, we played well."

Unfortunately, it was a performance that didn't bring about any goals: "We talk a lot about this, even with the Coach. We had five or six chances, we should have scored. We were just lacking that something extra in front of goal, but it's up to all of us including the defenders and midfielder. We all need to improve because we're creating lots but not finishing enough off." The next opportunity for the Under-21 side will be on Monday at 15:30 CEST at stadio "Teofilo Patini" in Castel di Sangro against Japan: "It will be important to do well, and above all, win for our morale. Wearing the Azzurri shirt is always an honour, we need to give 100%. Being captain is extra motivation."

In the morning, the team were back in training at Castel di Sangro for a recovery session ahead of the friendly with Japan on Monday. Goalkeeper Alessandro Plizzari, defender Giorgio Cittadini and striker Pietro Pellegri have left the camp and all returned to their respective clubs.

Squad List

Goalkeepers: Elia Caprile (Bari), Alessandro Sorrentino (Monza), Stefano Turati (Frosinone);
Defenders: Raoul Bellanova (Inter), Andrea Cambiaso (Bologna), Simone Canestrelli (Pisa), Alessandro Circati (Parma), Caleb Okoli (Atalanta), Fabiano Parisi (Empoli), Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Mattia Viti (OGC Nice), Destiny Iyenoma Udogie (Udinese);
Midfielders: Edoardo Bove (Roma), Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Filippo Ranocchia (Monza), Nicolò Rovella (Monza), Emanuel Vignato (Bologna);
Forwards: Nicolò Cambiaghi (Empoli), Lorenzo Colombo (Lecce), Sebastiano Esposito (Anderlecht), Luca Moro (Frosinone).