A look back ahead of the friendlies against France and Ukraine
02 November 2024
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Carmine Nunziata’s tenure as the manager of the Azzurri Under 21 team has seen seven wins (two at home, 2 away, three at a neutral venue), four draws and one defeat in 12 matches (7 matches in the European U21 2025 qualification games, five at the Toulon Tournament), with a total of 25 points (average 2.08 per match), out of a possible 36 points, a goal difference of +12, as a result of 24 goals scored (average 2 goals per match) and 12 goals conceded (average 1 per match).
If we only take into account the European Qualifying matches, the Azzurri have four wins (two at home, two away), three draws and zero defeats, with a total of 15 points (2.14 points per game) out of a possible 21 points, a goal difference of +13, thanks to 16 goals scored (2.28 per game) and only three goals conceded (0.42 per game). In the 560 minutes played during the seven matches, the Under 21 team have been ahead for 293 minutes (46.5% of the time), have been level for 281 minutes (44.6% of the time) and have only been behind for 56 minutes (8.88% of the total time). The Azzurri have gained eight points on the road in four away matches (in Jurmala against Latvia, Kocaeli against Türkiye, Cork against Republic of Ireland and in Serravalle against San Marino), seven points in home matches (in Bolzano against Norway, Cesena against Latvia and in Ferrara against Türkiye). In these seven matches, the Azzurri have had 88 shots (43 on target, 45 off target), 36 corners and have been caught offside 14 times. In terms of the team's discipline, the Under 21’s have received 19 yellow cards (2 for Bove, Calafiori, Coppola, Gnonto and Ndour), no red cards, have committed 91 fouls and have been fouled 73 times.
From September 2023 to June 2024, 50 players have been called up to the squad, 46 of which have made an appearance. Zanotti has made the most appearances (eleven appearances with 824 minutes played), followed by Ndour (10 appearances and 760 minutes played). Only taking into account the qualifying matches, there are five players who have always been present in the team: Desplanches, Zanotti, Prati, Casadei and Ndour (7 appearances each, however, the Palermo keeper was the only player to stay.