Italy national under-21 football team

Italy Under-21
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Gli Azzurrini
(The Little Blues)
AssociationItalian Football Federation
(Federazion Italia Giuoco Calcio – FIGC)
Head coachPaolo Nicolato
CaptainMarco Carnesecchi
Most capsAndrea Pirlo (46)
Top scorerAlberto Gilardino (19)
First colours
Second colours
First international
U-23: Italy Italy 3–1 Austria Austria
(Varese, Italy; 1 November 1970)
U-21: Portugal Portugal 1–0 Italy Italy
(Funchal, Italy; 23 December 1976)
Biggest win
Italy Italy 7–0 Estonia Estonia
(Catanzaro, Italy; 23 March 1995)
Italy Italy 8–1 Wales Wales
(Pavia, Italy; 5 September 2003)
Italy Italy 7–0 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein
(Casarano, Italy; 6 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
Norway Norway 6–0 Italy Italy
(Stavanger, Norway; 5 June 1991)
Records for competitive
matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances5 (first in 1992)
Best result Bronze medallist: (2004)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances21 (first in 1978)
Best resultChampions: (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004)
Medal record
Italy national under-21 football team
Medal record
Men's Football
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens Team

The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.

The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two years. Italy (along with Spain) is the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with five Championships won (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2004). Italy has also been twice runner-up of the competition, in 1986 and 2013.

From 1990 to 2004 the team established near-total dominance of European Under-21 football, winning five of the seven tournaments.

Italy's Under-21s played the first match at the new Wembley Stadium, on 24 March 2007, against England Under-21s. The game resulted in a 3–3 draw, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring all 3 goals for the Azzurrini.

Prior to the 2008 Olympic games, Italy U-21s went on to win the 2008 Toulon Tournament by beating Chile (1–0) in the final. It was the first time they had won this tournament, previously their best had been runner-up on two occasions.[1]

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. For this reason, Italy's record in the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown.

  • 1972: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
  • 1974: Losing quarter-finalists.
  • 1976: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.

UEFA U-21 Championship Record
Year Round
Europe 1978Quarter-finals
Europe 1980Quarter-finals
Europe 1982Quarter-finals
Europe 1984Semi-finals
Europe 1986Runners-up
Europe 1988Quarter-finals
Europe 1990Semi-finals
Europe 1992Winners
France 1994Winners
Spain 1996Winners
Romania 1998Did not qualify
Slovakia 2000Winners
Switzerland 2002Semi-finals
Germany 2004Winners
Portugal 2006Group stage
Netherlands 2007Group stage
Sweden 2009Semi-finals
Denmark 2011Did not qualify
Israel 2013Runners-up
Czech Republic 2015Group stage
Poland 2017Semi-finals
Italy 2019Group stage
Hungary Slovenia 2021Quarter-finals
Romania Georgia (country) 2023Qualified
Total22/24
*Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Olympics football Record
Main article: Italy national under-23 football team

Since 1992 Olympic football changed to a U-23 event, and the European U-21 teams are technically U-23 teams. European national teams qualify for the Olympic football tournament through the UEFA European U-21 Championship.

Overage players in Olympic Games
Tournament Player 1 Player 2 Player 3
1996
 Gianluca Pagliuca (GK) Massimo Crippa (MF) Marco Branca (FW)
2000
 Did not select
2004
 Matteo Ferrari (DF) Andrea Pirlo (MF) Did not select
2008
 Tommaso Rocchi (FW) Did not select

Mediterranean Games Record

Mediterranean Games Football tournament was U-23 event in 1993 and 1997.

  • 1993: 4th place
  • 1997: Winners
  • 2001: a U20 event
  • 2005: filled with B team

Honours

Coaches

Coaching staff
Main article: List of Italy national football team managers

Current technical staff:[2]

Position Name
Head coach Italy Paolo Nicolato
Assistant coach Italy Mirco Gasparetto
Goalkeeping coach Italy Matteo Mareggini
Team Manager Italy Massimo Paganin
Athletic Trainers Italy Vincenzo Pincolini
Match analyst Italy Francesco Bordin
Doctors Italy Angelo De Carli
Italy Vincenzo Santoriello
Physiotherapists Italy Nicola Sanna
Italy Emiliano Bozzetti
Physiologist Italy Christian Osgnach
Accompanying Manager Italy Vincenzo Marinelli
Secretary Italy Manfredi Martino

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Only official matches are listed.[3]

2022
25 March 2022 (2022-03-25) 2023 Championship qual. Montenegro  1–1  Italy Podgorica, Montenegro
18:30 Rakonjac 37' Report Ricci 39' Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
29 March 2022 (2022-03-29) 2023 Championship qual. Italy  1–0  Bosnia and Herzegovina Trieste, Italy
17:30 Rovella 14' Report Stadium: Stadio Nereo Rocco
6 June 2022 (2022-06-06) 2023 Championship qual. Luxembourg  0–3  Italy Differdange, Luxembourg
18:00 Report Vignato 20'
Pellegri 33'
Gaetano 54'		 Stadium: Stade Municipal
Attendance: 1,890
Referee: Elchin Masiyev (Azerbaijan)
9 June 2022 (2022-06-09) 2023 Championship qual. Sweden  1–1  Italy Helsingborg, Sweden
Gustavsson 9' Report Rovella 58' Stadium: Olympia
14 June 2022 (2022-06-14) 2023 Championship qual. Italy  4–1  Republic of Ireland Ascoli Piceno, Italy
Rovella 20'
Cambiaghi 33'
Pellegri 46'
Quagliata 86'		 Report Coventry 62' Stadium: Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca
22 September 2022 (2022-09-22) Friendly Italy  0–2  England Pescara, Italy
Report Brewster 3' 5' Stadium: Stadio Adriatico
26 September 2022 (2022-09-26) Friendly Italy  1–1  Japan Castel di Sangro, Italy
Colombo 39' Report Fujio 55' Stadium: Stadio Teofilo Patini
19 November 2022 (2022-11-19) Friendly Italy  2–4  Germany Ancona, Italy
17:30 Cancellieri 66', 73' Report Huseinbašić 23'
Samardžić 52'
Shade 55'
Malone 88'		 Stadium: Stadio del Conero

2023
24 March 2023 (2023-03-24) Friendly Serbia  0–2  Italy Backa Topola, Serbia
18:00 Mulattieri 53' 67' Stadium: TSC Arena
27 March 2023 (2023-03-27) Friendly Italy  3–1  Ukraine Reggio Calabria, Italy
20:00 Lovato 19'
Colombo 71' 82'		 Kashchuk 68' Stadium: Stadio Oreste Granillo
22 June 2023 (2023-06-22) 2023 UEFA U21 Champ. France  v  Italy Cluj Napoca, Romania
20.45 Stadium: Cluj Arena
25 June 2023 (2023-06-25) 2023 UEFA U21 Champ. Italy  v  Switzerland Cluj Napoca, Romania
18.00 Stadium: Cluj Arena
28 June 2023 (2023-06-28) 2023 UEFA U21 Champ. Italy  v  Norway Cluj Napoca, Romania
20.45 Stadium: Cluj Arena

Players

Players born in 2000 or later are eligible for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Players in bold have been already capped with the senior team.

Current squad

The following players have been selected for the friendly matches against Serbia and Ukraine on 24 and 27 March 2023 respectively.[4]

Caps and goals as of 27 March 2023, after the match against Ukraine.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Stefano Turati (2001-09-05) 5 September 2001 4 0 Italy Frosinone
1GK Elia Caprile (2001-08-25) 25 August 2001 2 0 Italy Bari
1GK Alessandro Sorrentino (2002-04-03) 3 April 2002 1 0 Italy Monza
2DF Raoul Bellanova (2000-05-17) 17 May 2000 18 0 Italy Internazionale
2DF Matteo Lovato (2000-02-14) 14 February 2000 13 1 Italy Salernitana
2DF Caleb Okoli (2001-07-13) 13 July 2001 11 1 Italy Atalanta
2DF Lorenzo Pirola (2002-02-20) 20 February 2002 10 1 Italy Salernitana
2DF Fabiano Parisi (2000-11-09) 9 November 2000 8 0 Italy Empoli
2DF Destiny Udogie (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 7 0 Italy Udinese
2DF Mattia Viti (2002-01-24) 24 January 2002 6 0 France Nice
2DF Matteo Ruggeri (2002-07-11) 11 July 2002 3 0 Italy Atalanta
2DF Andrea Carboni (2001-02-04) 4 February 2001 2 0 Italy Venezia
2DF Alessandro Zanoli (2000-10-03) 3 October 2000 2 0 Italy Sampdoria
2DF Niccolò Pierozzi (2001-09-12) 12 September 2001 2 0 Italy Reggina
2DF Antonino Gallo (2000-01-05) 5 January 2000 1 0 Italy Lecce
3MF Samuele Ricci (2001-08-21) 21 August 2001 14 1 Italy Torino
3MF Salvatore Esposito (2000-10-07) 7 October 2000 10 0 Italy Spezia
3MF Edoardo Bove (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 7 0 Italy Roma
3MF Nicolò Fagioli (2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 7 0 Italy Juventus
3MF Cesare Casadei (2003-01-10) 10 January 2003 2 0 England Reading
3MF Giovanni Fabbian (2003-01-14) 14 January 2003 1 0 Italy Reggina
3MF Bruno Zapelli (2002-05-17) 17 May 2002 1 0 Argentina Belgrano
4FW Lorenzo Colombo (2002-03-08) 8 March 2002 16 4 Italy Lecce
4FW Matteo Cancellieri (2002-02-12) 12 February 2002 9 4 Italy Lazio
4FW Samuele Mulattieri (2000-10-07) 7 October 2000 5 3 Italy Frosinone
4FW Gaetano Oristanio (2002-09-28) 28 September 2002 3 0 Netherlands Volendam
4FW Tommaso Baldanzi (2003-03-23) 23 March 2003 1 0 Italy Empoli

Recent call-ups

Following are listed players called up in the previous 12 months that are still eligible to represent the Under-21 team.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Marco Carnesecchi (2000-07-01) 1 July 2000 19 0 Italy Cremonese v. Serbia, 24 March 2023 PRE
GK Alessandro Plizzari (2000-03-12) 12 March 2000 5 0 Italy Pescara v. England, 22 September 2022
DF Andrea Cambiaso (2000-02-20) 20 February 2000 7 0 Italy Bologna v. Serbia, 24 March 2023 INJ
DF Diego Coppola (2003-12-28) 28 December 2003 0 0 Italy Verona v. Serbia, 24 March 2023 INJ
DF Giacomo Quagliata (2000-02-19) 19 February 2000 5 1 Italy Cremonese v. Germany, 19 November 2022
DF Riccardo Calafiori (2002-05-19) 19 May 2002 3 0 Switzerland Basel v. Germany, 19 November 2022
DF Giorgio Cittadini (2002-04-18) 18 April 2002 2 0 Italy Modena v. Germany, 19 November 2022
DF Christian Dalle Mura (2002-02-02) 2 February 2002 0 0 Italy SPAL v. Germany, 19 November 2022
DF Giorgio Scalvini (2003-12-11) 11 December 2003 3 0 Italy Atalanta v. Japan, 26 September 2022
DF Simone Canestrelli (2000-09-11) 11 September 2000 2 3 Italy Como v. Japan, 26 September 2022
DF Alessandro Circati (2003-10-10) 10 October 2003 0 0 Italy Parma v. Japan, 26 September 2022
MF Fabio Miretti (2003-08-03) 3 August 2003 3 0 Italy Juventus v. Serbia, 24 March 2023 INJ
MF Nicolò Rovella (2001-12-04) 4 December 2001 18 3 Italy Monza v. Germany, 19 November 2022
MF Filippo Ranocchia (2001-05-14) 14 May 2001 5 0 Italy Monza v. Germany, 19 November 2022
MF Filippo Terracciano (2003-02-08) 8 February 2003 1 0 Italy Hellas Verona v. Germany, 19 November 2022
MF Franco Tongya (2002-03-13) 13 March 2002 0 0 Denmark OB v. Germany, 19 November 2022
MF Gianluca Gaetano (2000-05-05) 5 May 2000 3 1 Italy Napoli v. Republic of Ireland, 14 June 2022
FW Emanuel Vignato (2000-08-24) 24 August 2000 10 2 Italy Empoli v. Germany, 19 November 2022
FW Nicolò Cambiaghi (2000-12-28) 28 December 2000 7 1 Italy Empoli v. Germany, 19 November 2022
FW Lorenzo Lucca (2000-09-10) 10 September 2000 6 2 Netherlands Ajax v. Germany, 19 November 2022
FW Cristian Volpato (2003-11-15) 15 November 2003 1 0 Italy Roma v. Germany, 19 November 2022
FW Pietro Pellegri (2001-03-17) 17 March 2001 5 2 Italy Torino v. Germany, 19 November 2022 INJ
FW Sebastiano Esposito (2002-07-02) 2 July 2002 7 0 Italy Bari v. Japan, 26 September 2022
FW Luca Moro (2001-01-25) 25 January 2001 1 0 Italy Frosinone v. Japan, 26 September 2022
FW Kelvin Yeboah (2000-05-06) 6 May 2000 4 0 Germany Augsburg v. Republic of Ireland, 14 June 2022

INJ Withdrew due to injury

Records

Players in bold are still eligible to represent Under-21 team. As of 31 May 2021.

Top appearances

The following is the top 10 most capped under-21 players:[5]

Rank Player Period U-21 Caps
1 Andrea Pirlo 1998–2002 46
2 Marco Motta 2005–2009 38
3 Francesco Bardi 2011–2015 37
4 Matteo Brighi 2000–2004 35
5 Daniele Bonera 2001–2004 34
6 Matteo Ferrari 1999–2002 33
7 Luca Marrone 2009–2013 32
Alessandro Rosina 2004–2007 32
9 Luca Caldirola 2010–2013 31
Marco Donadel 2004–2006 31

Top goalscorers

The following is the top 10 under-21 goalscorers:[6]

Rank Player Period U-21 Goals U-21 Caps
1 Alberto Gilardino 2000–2004 19 30
2 Andrea Pirlo 1998–2002 16 46
3 Manolo Gabbiadini 2010–2013 12 24
4 Patrick Cutrone 2017–2021 11 25
Massimo Maccarone 2000–2002 11 15
Gianluca Vialli 1983–1986 11 20
7 Robert Acquafresca 2007–2009 10 16
Cristiano Lucarelli 1996–1997 10 10
Christian Vieri 1992–1996 10 19
10 Andrea Belotti 2013–2015 9 18
Ciro Immobile 2009–2013 9 16
Roberto Mancini 1982–1986 9 26
Alberto Paloschi 2008–2013 9 29
Gianluca Scamacca 2018–2021 9 15

See also

Notes

    References
    1. "Categories - All 4". www.channel4.com.
    2. "Staff" (in Italian). FIGC. 18 March 2021.
    3. "FIGC". www.figc.it. 7 February 2020.
    4. "Doppia amichevole con Serbia e Ucraina. Cinque novità per Nicolato: Coppola, Pierozzi, Zapelli, Fabbian e Baldanzi". 16 March 2023.
    5. "Classifica Presenze". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 24 September 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
    6. "Classifica Marcatori". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 5 August 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
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