After their victory over Norway in Bolzano, the U21s are ready to take to the pitch for two crucial away matches on the road towards the 2025 European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia. The Azzurrini will return to action when they face San Marino on Thursday 16 November in Serravalle, after which a game against table-topping Republic of Ireland (three wins from three) awaits on Tuesday 21 November. Italy, who started their qualifying journey with a draw in Lativa and a victory in Turkey in September, sit level with the Latvians in second, although the latter have played two more games than Carmine Nunziata’s side.

Pisa defender Tommaso Barbieri has earned his first call-up for the U21s, who will meet at a hotel in Milano Marittima on Sunday 12 November before getting down to work in Cervia the next day and San Mauro Pascoli from Tuesday. After their game against San Siro on Thursday, the Azzurrini will immediately return to Emilia-Romagna and remain there until their departure for the Republic of Ireland on Sunday 19 November. Wilfried Gnonto is back within the U21 setup after taking part in the finals of the last European Championship.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS. Italy’s U21s are set to face their San Marino counterparts for the first time in 34 years after two 2-0 Euro qualifying victories for the Azzurrini in 1989. The Republic of Ireland, meanwhile, have stood in Italy’s way in Euro qualifying four times in the past few years: a 0-0 draw in October 2019 and a 2-0 win in October 2020 (goals from Sottil and Cutrone in Pisa) were followed by two Azzurrini victories in November 2021 (2-0 away from home thanks to goals from Lucca and Cancellieri) and June 2022 (4-1 in Ascoli Piceno with Rovella, Cambiaghi, Pellegri and Quagliata on the scoresheet), with the last success securing Italy’s spot in the finals. The Azzurrini’s overall record against the Irish reads as follows: six wins, two draws and one defeat in nine matches.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Jacopo Sassi (Pro Vercelli), Gioele Zacchi (Giana Erminio)
Defenders: Tommaso Barbieri (Pisa), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Diego Coppola (Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Sampdoria), Samuel Giovane (Ascoli), Gabriele Guarino (Empoli), Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (St. Gallen)
Midfielders: Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Alessandro Bianco (Reggiana), Edoardo Bove (Roma), Cesare Casadei (Leicester), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Jacopo Fazzini (Empoli), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Cher Ndour (Paris Saint-Germain), Matteo Prati (Cagliari)
Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Catanzaro), Lorenzo Colombo (Monza), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds United), Luca Koleosho (Burnley), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Cagliari)

UEFA EURO UNDER 21 2025 - GROUP A
Thursday 16 November 
18:30 CET – San Marino vs. Italy (Serraville)

Friday 17 November
18:00 CET – Norway vs. Republic of Ireland

Tuesday 21 November
17:45 CET - Turkey vs. Norway
18:30 CET – Republic of Ireland vs. Italy (Cork)

Table (games played in brackets): Rep. of Ireland (3) 9, ITALY (3) and Latvia (5) 7, Norway (3) 6, Turkey (4) 3, San Marino (4) 0

ITALY’S CALENDAR

Friday 22 March 2024: Italy vs. Latvia
Tuesday 26 March 2024: Italy vs. Turkey
Thursday 5 September 2024: Italy vs. San Marino
Tuesday 10 September 2024: Norway vs. Italy
Tuesday 15 October 2024: Italy vs. Republic of Ireland