After wins for Italy and Norway, the Republic of Ireland also emerged victorious in their latest match (1-0 away from home against Türkiye). The top of Group A is tight, and it’ll all come down to the last two matches for the Azzurrini. The team are hard at work in Rome ahead of Tuesday’s match against Norway in Stavenger (18:30 CEST), which precedes Italy’s final group game against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday 15 October in Trieste.

“The disappointing aspect to come from the match against San Marino is the fact that we picked up a few too many injuries, but it was a game that we needed to approach the next one, the one that really counts, in Norway,” said National Youth Team Coordinator Maurizio Viscidi to RaiSport. “The wins for Norway and the Republic of Ireland in the latest round of fixtures have complicated matters a bit, but we have to go down our own path, with the match in Norway representing a crossroads.” In the reverse fixture, goals from Baldanzi and Pio Esposito decided the game in Italy’s favour. Against San Marino, meanwhile, Esposito scored four goals: “Up front, this U21 side has quality: we have the pace of Gnonto, the frame of Pio Esposito, who was born in 2005 and is playing above his age category, as well as Baldanzi, who is capable of playing some interesting balls in the final third. And not forgetting the other attackers, like Ambrosino, for example.”

Viscidi wanted to clarify the incident that saw Willy Gnonto pictured with his phone on the bench: “Willy was substituted at half-time because we were ahead and he was one booking away from suspension, and it was vital to have him available for the Norway game. On his way back to the pitch from the changing room, he received a message from his club asking why he’d been substituted in such a game. When he sat down on the bench, he wanted to reassure his club that the substitution had been made to avoid a possible suspension. Perhaps the timing was wrong, but, at the same time, it was an act of respect towards his club to reassure them.”

None of the players walking the suspension tightrope received yellow cards, meaning they’ll all be available for the match against Norway, a tough side to face: “They play good football and dynamically in their 4-3-3 formation. Their build-up play is good, and they’re a threat with one-on-one situations on the flanks. They have some high-quality players,” continued Viscidi. “They’re not what you’d imagine a typical Nordic side to be in that they love to keep hold of the ball and play attacking football.”

Ahead of the U21s’ return to the pitch, there was the senior side’s fantastic performance in Paris: “Congratulations to Spalletti and the players. We went to France, where, apart from the first 15 minutes, we dominated at both ends of the pitch. We had Ricci, Tonali, Udogie and Cambiaso in midfield and Raspadori up front, all of whom played for the U21s in the past two years. Frattesi and Bastoni did the same in the two-year period before that. When lads pass through the U21s and make so many appearances at youth level and then for the senior side, it means that the system is working. In addition to work at club level, international matches help you grow.”

PRATI OUT. Matteo Prati will be unavailable for the match against Norway due to an injury to his right ankle.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Jacopo Sassi (Modena), Gioele Zacchi (Latina);
Defenders: Giovanni Bonfanti (Pisa), Diego Coppola (Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Verona), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Pirola (Olympiacos), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Nicolò Savona (Juventus), Riccardo Turicchia (Catanzaro), Davide Veroli (Sampdoria), Mattia Zanotti (Lugano);
Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Roma), Alessandro Bianco (Fiorentina), Edoardo Bove (Fiorentina), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Cher Ndour (Besiktas), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Franco Tongya (Salernitana);
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Frosinone), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Antonio Raimondo (Venezia)

2025 UEFA EURO UNDER-21 QUALIFYING - GROUP A

Thursday 5 September
Latvia 0-1 Norway
ITALY 7-0 San Marino

Friday 6 September
Türkiye 0-1 Republic of Ireland

Tuesday 10 September
18:00 CEST – Republic of Ireland vs. Latvia
18:30 CEST – Norway vs. ITALY (Stavanger)
20:30 CEST – San Marino vs. Türkiye

Table (number of games played in brackets): ITALY (8) 18 points, Republic of Ireland (7) 16, Norway (7) 15, Latvia (7) and Türkiye (7) 7, San Marino (7) 0

ITALY’S NEXT FIXTURES
Tuesday 15 October: ​​Italy vs. Republic of Ireland