Preparations continue in Castel di Sangro for the Under 21s' first two friendlies of the season: against England, on Thursday 22 September at 17.30 CEST at the stadio “Adriatico-Giovanni Cornacchia” (live on Rai2), and Japan, on Monday 26 September at 15:30 CEST at “Teofilo Patini” in Castel di Sangro (live on RaiSport). Midfielder Salvatore Esposito (SPAL) has left the camp to join up with Roberto Mancini's First Team. On Tuesday morning, the players had training, led by Head Coach Paolo Nicolato, with Nicolò Rovella, Nicolò Cambiaghi and Pietro Pellegri working separately from the group.

Also with the group was Giorgio Scalvini, who is having an outstanding 2022 after scoring his first goal in Serie A in April, getting his first senior cap with the First Team in June (against Germany), and grabbing another vital goal last Sunday in Atalanta's win over Roma. Scalvini, who will turn 19 on 11 December, started out as a defender but has also been used as a midfielder: "I feel comfortable in both positions; wherever the Head Coach puts me, I'll try to do my best," he told reporters in his press conference, "I feel more like a defender because that's where I've played the most, but if I need to play in midfield then I will. In the First Team squad, Mancini gave me my debut in midfield, he asked me if I felt up to it and I think it went well."

Scalvini, growing up with the great Thiago Silva and taking inspiration from another Atalanta youth product, Alessandro Bastoni, the 18-year-old has already collected 22 Serie A appearances. "I'm really happy to have been given my chance. It's also really pleasing to see many other young players part of squads in Serie A and B. The limited use of young Italian players has been talked about a lot recently, but I see lots of players getting experience in different clubs and at various Azzurri levels. Mancini welcomed us into the group really nicely, explaining that age wouldn't make any difference. From a technical and tactical point of view, we can be the future, but also for the here and now; this is really important for us."  

TICKET INFO: Tickets for the games in Pescara and Castel di Sangro can be purchased online at figc.vivaticket.it and vivaticket.com or at Vivaticket allocated sales points. There are special reduced prices for Under 18s.

CLICK HERE for Italy vs. England tickets

CLICK HERE for Italy vs. Japan tickets

Squad List:

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