It’s time. Under-21 National Team is set to kick off with Italy hosting the European Championship for the first time. The first match against Spain at the Stadio Dall’Ara in Bologna at 21:00 CEST will see the two teams with the most titles at this level face off. Spain have won eleven of the previous 22 meetings although Italy are ahead in terms of titles won with five compared to four. It was also against Spain in 1996 in Barcelona that Cesare Maldini’s side won on penalties to win a third title. That match saw the likes of Panucci, Nesta, Cannavaro, Tommasi and Totti play for Italy while Spain had Raul, Mendieta, Morientes and De la Pena in their ranks.

23 years have since passed with the Azzurrini winning further titles in 2000 and 2004 and they’ll approach this tournament with home advantage. Coach Luigi Di Biagio who has been in the role since July 2013 is taking charge at his third European Championship. In 2015, Italy went out at the group stages in the Czech Republic but in 2017 they made the semi-final, only to go out to historic foe Spain. "It will be the best tournament in the last 30 years," said the Coach. "All of the best teams are taking part and at least five or six teams can win it. I’m thinking of Germany, France, England and Spain along with ourselves. Everyone is asking me to win and everyone is saying we have a really strong side. I’ve always thought so even when perhaps we weren’t as strong. The aim is to get the best result. We’ve worked well, the guys are in form and there’s nothing to left but to go out there and give our best. So far, we’ve been on a good journey and the cherry on the cake is the only thing lacking."

The five cities hosting the competition Trieste, Udine, Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Cesena in addition to San Marino are all ready. The Azzurrini are ready too. "I know that I have an excellent side," added the Coach. "It’s a strong team but I know the format of this competition and what the dangers can be. We’re playing at home and I can only see positives from this. I’m an optimist by nature, everyone is asking us to win it and we’ll try."

"We can’t wait to start. We’ve got a difficult game tomorrow but it will be for them also. I think that it will be a wonderful match, a great show and we’ll look above all to do football justice. It will be incredible playing at a full stadium in Bologna, hearing the anthem from 30,000 fans. The dangers come from the complicated formula and you can’t get a single game wrong. In practice, Italy against Spain is already a knockout game."

In Group A, Italy will face Poland after Spain on Wednesday 19 June in Bologna at 21:00 CEST before meeting Belgium on Saturday 22 June at 21:00 CEST in Reggio Emilia. Twelve teams are competing in the competition and it will also determine qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Squad list for the European Championship

 

Goalkeepers: Emil Audero (Sampdoria), Alex Meret (Napoli), Lorenzo Montipò (Benevento);

Defenders: Claud Adjapong (Sassuolo), Alessandro Bastoni (Parma), Kevin Bonifazi (Spal), Arturo Calabresi (Bologna), Federico Dimarco (Parma), Gianluca Mancini (Atalanta), Giuseppe Pezzella (Genoa), Filippo Romagna (Cagliari);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Cagliari), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Rolando Mandragora (Udinese), Alessandro Murgia (Spal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Sandro Tonali (Brescia), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma);

Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Patrick Cutrone (Milan), Moise Bioty Kean (Juventus), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Federico Bonazzoli (Padova).

Staff – Delegation Head: Massimo Ambrosini; Team Manager: Vincenzo Marinelli; National Teams Co-ordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Head Coach: Luigi Di Biagio; Secretary: Mauro Vladovich; Assistant Coaches: Massimo Mutarelli, Carmine Nunziata; Fitness Coach: Vito Azzone; Goalkeeper Coach: Antonio Chimenti; Match analyst: Filippo Lorenzon; Doctors: Angelo De Carli and Luca Gatteschi; Nutritionist: Cristian Petri; Physiotherapists: Enzo Paolini, Alfonso Casano, Emiliano Bozzetti. National teams department: Manfredi Martino.

 

 

Schedule for the European Championship

Saturday 15 June 2019

17:00 UEFA press conference at the Stadio Dall’Ara

17:30 Training at the Dall’Ara in Bologna (first 15 minutes open to the press)

 

Sunday 16 June 2019

21:00 ITALY – SPAIN at the Stadio Dall’Ara in Bologna

 

Monday 17 June 2019

16:30 Meeting with the press (player)

17:30 Training at Casteldebole (first 15 minutes open to the press)

Tuesday 18 June 2019

15:30 UEFA press conference at the Stadio Dall’Ara

17:30 Training at Casteldebole (first 15 minutes open to the press)

Wednesday 19 June 2019

21:00 ITALY – POLAND at the Stadio Dall’Ara in Bologna

 

Thursday 20 June 2019

16:30 Meeting with the press (player)

17:30 Training at Casteldebole (first 15 minutes open to the press)

Friday 21 June 2019

10:45 Training at Casteldebole (first 15 minutes open to the press)

18:00 Transfer to the Stadio Città del Tricolore

19:15 Walk around at the Stadio Città del Tricolore before then heading to the Hotel Boiardo

19:30 UEFA press conference at the Stadio Città del Tricolore

Saturday 22 June 2019

21:00 BELGIUM – ITALY at the Stadio Città del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia

Saturday 23 June 2019

Players depart from the squad should they be eliminated.

Olympic Play-Off

28 June 21:00 in Cesena

European Championship final 30 June 2019

20:45 Stadio Friuli in Udine