Ten months on from their 6-0 victory over Armenia on 19 November in Catania, the Under-21 National Team are set to return to European qualifying action against Sweden. The Azzurrini arrived in Kalmar at 12:30 CEST today and will put the finishing touches to their preparations this afternoon ahead of tomorrow’s 18:30 CEST kick-off. Luca Pellegrini has now joined up with the group having recently been involved in the senior side’s training camp. The Juventus defender will be an important reinforcement for Paolo Nicolato, who will most likely send out a much-changed side compared to the one that lined up against Slovenia on Thursday in Lignano Sabbiadoro.

“I saw some good signs against Slovenia,” said the Head Coach in an interview with Rai Sport. “I called up many lads who have also showcased their talents in Serie B, with this being done so they get to know the others better. We decided to save those who seemed to be in a better physical condition for the match against Sweden. We’re proud that we’ve succeeded in helping many youngsters become part of the senior set-up, and we’ll try to be competitive.”

Italy are currently second in the standings with 13 points from five games (four wins and one draw, 15 goals scored and zero conceded), three behind an Ireland side that has played two more matches. The Azzurrini will be coming up against a Swedish team that has picked up six points from five fixtures, with the Swedes having suffered a 1-0 defeat to Iceland in Reykjavik on Friday. “Against Sweden, we’ll start at a significant disadvantage physically,” continued Nicolato. “Traditionally, they cover a lot of ground, and our task will be more difficult due to the fact that 18 matchdays have come and gone in the Swedish league, while we’ve just returned from our holidays. We’ll need to dig in, and we hope to do this in the right way.”

The situation surrounding the COVID-19 crisis has further complicated the lead-up to the game given the two positive cases ahead of the match against Slovenia, which caused the final training session to be cancelled. Yesterday, the entire team underwent a fourth round of testing, which yielded no positive results: “We need to get used to a reality that we do not want,” Nicolato explained. “However, maybe this new experience will give us a little something extra.”

Squad list for the match against Sweden

Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Mattia Del Favero (Juventus), Alessandro Plizzari (Reggina);
Defenders: Claud Adjapong (Sassuolo), Davide Bettella (Atalanta), Nicolò Casale (Hellas Verona), Enrico Delprato (Atalanta), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Luca Pellegrini (Juventus), Marco Sala (Sassuolo), Marco Varnier (Pisa);
Midfielders: Marco Carraro (Atalanta), Andrea Colpani (Monza), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo), Giulio Maggiore (Spezia), Youssef Maleh (Venezia), Filippo Melegoni (Atalanta), Niccolò Zanellato (Crotone);
Forwards: Patrick Cutrone (Fiorentina), Sebastiano Esposito (Inter), Andrea Pinamonti (Genoa), Gianluca