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Italy national under-21 football team facts for kids

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Italy Under-21
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Gli Azzurrini
(The Little Blues)
Association Italian Football Federation
(Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio – FIGC)
Head coach Silvio Baldini
Captain Vacant
Most caps Andrea Pirlo (46)
Top scorer Alberto 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)
San Marino San Marino 0–7 Italy Italy
(Serravale, San Marino; 16 November 2023)
Italy Italy 7–0 San Marino San Marino
(Latina, Italy; 5 September 2024)
Biggest defeat
Norway Norway 6–0 Italy Italy
(Stavanger, Norway; 5 June 1991)
Records for competitive
matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances 5 (first in 1992)
Best result Bronze medal.svg Bronze medallist (2004)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 23 (first in 1978)
Best result Champions (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004)
Medal record
Italy national under-21 football team
Medal record
Men's Football
Bronze 2004 Athens Team

The Italy national under-21 football team is a special football team for young players from Italy. It is managed by the Italian Football Federation. This team helps develop future stars for the main Italian national team.

The team plays in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which happens every two years. Italy is one of the most successful teams in this competition. They have won the championship five times: in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2004. They also finished second twice, in 1986 and 2013.

From 1990 to 2004, the Italian Under-21 team was very strong. They won five out of seven tournaments during this time. This showed how dominant they were in European youth football.

The Italy Under-21 team played the first-ever match at the new Wembley Stadium in England. This happened on March 24, 2007, against the England Under-21s. The game ended in a 3–3 draw, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring all three goals for Italy.

Before the 2008 Olympic Games, the Italy U-21 team won the 2008 Toulon Tournament. They beat Chile 1–0 in the final. This was their first time winning this tournament.

Team Achievements

The Italy Under-21 team has won many important tournaments. Here are their main achievements:

  • Mediterranean Games
    • Winners: 1997
  • Maurice Revello Tournament
    • Winners: 2008
    • Third place: 2011, 2024

UEFA European Under-21 Championship History

The rules for the Under-21 competition say that players must be 21 or younger when the two-year tournament starts. This means it is technically an Under-23 competition. Italy's results in earlier Under-23 competitions are also included here.

  • 1972: Did not qualify.
  • 1974: Lost in the quarter-finals.
  • 1976: Did not qualify.

UEFA U-21 Championship Results

Year Round
Europe 1978 Quarter-finals
Europe 1980
Europe 1982
Europe 1984 Semi-finals
Europe 1986 Runners-up
Europe 1988 Quarter-finals
Europe 1990 Semi-finals
Europe 1992 Champions
France 1994
Spain 1996
Romania 1998 Did not qualify
Slovakia 2000 Champions
Switzerland 2002 Semi-finals
Germany 2004 Champions
Portugal 2006 Group stage
Netherlands 2007
Sweden 2009 Semi-finals
Denmark 2011 Did not qualify
Israel 2013 Runners-up
Czech Republic 2015 Group stage
Poland 2017 Semi-finals
Italy 2019 Group stage
Hungary Slovenia 2021 Quarter-finals
Romania Georgia (country) 2023 Group stage
Slovakia 2025 Quarter-finals
Albania Serbia 2027 To be determined
Total 23/25
*The red border means the tournament was played in Italy.

Olympic Football History

Olympic football became an Under-23 event starting in 1992. European Under-21 teams qualify for the Olympics through the UEFA European U-21 Championship.

  • Before 1992: See Italy national football team
  • 1992: Quarter-finals
  • 1996: Group stage
  • 2000: Quarter-finals
  • 2004: Bronze medal
  • 2008: Quarter-finals
  • 2012: Did not qualify
  • 2016: Did not qualify
  • 2020: Did not qualify
  • 2024: Did not qualify

Older Players in Olympic Games

Sometimes, a few older players (over 23) are allowed to join the Olympic team. Here are some who played for Italy:

Tournament Player 1 Player 2 Player 3
1996
 Gianluca Pagliuca (GK) Massimo Crippa (MF) Marco Branca (FW)
2000
 Did not select any older players
2004
 Matteo Ferrari (DF) Andrea Pirlo (MF) Did not select a third older player
2008
 Tommaso Rocchi (FW) Did not select a second or third older player

Mediterranean Games History

The Mediterranean Games football tournament was an Under-23 event in 1993 and 1997.

  • 1993: 4th place
  • 1997: Winners

Team Coaches

Here are the coaches who have led the Italy Under-21 team over the years:

Coaching Staff

This table shows the current coaching staff for the Italy Under-21 team:

Position Name
Head coach Italy Silvio Baldini
Assistant coach Italy Andrea Barzagli
Goalkeeping coach Italy Fabrizio Ferron
Fitness coach Italy Vito Azzone
Match analyst Italy Gianluca Mazziotti
Head of delegation Italy Giancarlo Antognoni
Doctors Italy Daniele Mazza
Italy Vincenzo Santoriello
Physiotherapists Italy Emiliano Bozzetti
Italy Nicola Sanna
Osteopath Italy Cristiano Pompili
Nutritionist Italy Maria Luisa Cravana

Recent Matches and Schedule

Here are the official matches the team has played recently and some upcoming games.

2024 Matches

5 September 2024 (2024-09-05) 2025 Championship qual. Italy  7–0  San Marino Latina, Italy
16:45
  • Bove Goal 35'
  • Matteoni Goal 38' (o.g.)
  • Esposito Goal 58', 76', 78', 90+1'
  • Raimondo Goal 81'
 Stadium: Stadio Domenico Francioni
Referee: Marek Radina (Czech Republic)
10 September 2024 (2024-09-10) 2025 Championship qual. Norway  0–3  Italy Stavanger, Norway
18:30
  • Baldanzi Goal 10', 72', 80'
 Stadium: Viking Stadion
15 October 2024 (2024-10-15) 2025 Championship qual. Italy  1–1  Republic of Ireland Trieste, Italy
18:30
  • Casadei Goal 23'
  • Moran Goal 66'
 Stadium: Stadio Nereo Rocco
Referee: Adam Ladebäck (Sweden)
15 November 2024 (2024-11-15) Friendly Italy  2–2  France Empoli, Italy
16:15
  • Casadei Goal 16'
  • Ambrosino Goal 44'
  • Cherki Goal 58'
  • Atangana Goal 65'
 Stadium: Stadio Carlo Castellani
19 November 2024 (2024-11-19) Friendly Italy  2–2  Ukraine La Spezia, Italy
18:15
  • Fabbian Goal 26'
  • Esposito Goal 45'
  • Kvasnytsya Goal 28'
  • Krasnopir Goal 83'
 Stadium: Stadio Alberto Picco

2025 Matches

21 March 2025 (2025-03-21) Friendly Italy  1–2  Netherlands Venice, Italy
18:15
  • S. Esposito Goal 54', pen.'
  • Fitz-Jim Goal 19'
  • Bruns Goal 90+4'
 Stadium: Stadio Pierluigi Penzo
24 March 2025 (2025-03-24) Friendly Italy  1–1  Denmark Cittadella, Italy
18:15 UTC+1
  • Prati Goal 37'
  • Sørensen Goal 21'
 Stadium: Stadio Pier Cesare Tombolato
Attendance: 7,000
11 June 2025 (2025-06-11) 2025 UEFA U21C RR Italy  1–0  Romania Trnava, Slovakia
21:00
  • Baldanzi Goal 26'
 Stadium: Anton Malatinský Stadium
Referee: Vassilis Fotias (Greece)
14 June 2025 (2025-06-14) 2025 UEFA U21C RR Slovakia  0–1  Italy Trnava, Slovakia
21:00
  • Casadei Goal 7'
 Stadium: Anton Malatinský Stadium
Attendance: 15,455
Referee: Nenad Minaković (Serbia)
17 June 2025 (2025-06-17) 2025 UEFA U21C RR Spain  1–1  Italy Trnava, Slovakia
21:00
  • Rodríguez Goal 53'
  • Pisilli Goal 59'
 Stadium: Anton Malatinský Stadium
Referee: Nick Walsh (Scotland)
22 June 2025 (2025-06-22) 2025 UEFA U21C QF Germany  3–2  Italy Dunajská Streda, Slovakia
21:00
  • Woltemade Goal 68'
  • Weiper Goal 87'
  • Röhl Goal 117'
  • Koleosho Goal 58'
  • Ambrosino Goal 90+6'
 Stadium: MOL Arena
Attendance: 6,503
Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania)
5 September 2025 (2025-09-05) 2027 Championship qual. Italy  v  Montenegro La Spezia, Italy
Stadium: Stadio Alberto Picco
9 September 2025 (2025-09-09) 2027 Championship qual. Macedonia  v  Italy TBD, North Macedonia
10 October 2025 (2025-10-10) 2027 Championship qual. Italy  v  Sweden TBD, Italy
14 October 2025 (2025-10-14) 2027 Championship qual. Italy  v  Armenia TBD, Italy
14 November 2025 (2025-11-14) 2027 Championship qual. Poland  v  Italy TBD, Poland
14 November 2025 (2025-11-14) 2027 Championship qual. Montenegro  v  Italy TBD, Montenegro

2026 Matches

26 March 2026 (2026-03-26) 2027 Championship qual. Italy  v  Macedonia TBD, Italy
31 March 2026 (2026-03-31) 2027 Championship qual. Sweden  v  Italy TBD, Sweden
1 October 2026 (2026-10-01) 2027 Championship qual. Armenia  v  Italy TBD, Armenia
5 October 2026 (2026-10-05) 2027 Championship qual. Italy  v  Poland TBD, Italy

Team Players

Players born in 2004 or later can play in the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Players whose names are in bold have also played for the main senior team.

Current Squad

These 23 players were chosen for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Caps (games played) and goals are updated as of June 22, 2025, after the match against Germany.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Sebastiano Desplanches (2003-03-11) 11 March 2003 (age 22) 16 0 Italy Palermo
12 1GK Gioele Zacchi (2003-07-10) 10 July 2003 (age 22) 7 0 Italy Sassuolo
22 1GK Jacopo Sassi (2003-07-24) 24 July 2003 (age 22) 3 0 Italy Atalanta U23
2 2DF Mattia Zanotti (2003-02-11) 11 February 2003 (age 22) 18 0 Switzerland Lugano
3 2DF Matteo Ruggeri (2002-07-11) 11 July 2002 (age 23) 16 0 Spain Atlético Madrid
5 2DF Lorenzo Pirola (captain) (2002-02-20) 20 February 2002 (age 23) 26 3 Greece Olympiacos
6 2DF Daniele Ghilardi (2003-01-06) 6 January 2003 (age 22) 16 1 Italy Hellas Verona
13 2DF Michael Kayode (2004-07-10) 10 July 2004 (age 21) 8 0 England Brentford
15 2DF Diego Coppola (2003-12-28) 28 December 2003 (age 21) 11 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion
16 2DF Riccardo Turicchia (2003-02-05) 5 February 2003 (age 22) 11 0 Italy Juventus Next Gen
19 2DF Gabriele Guarino (2004-04-14) 14 April 2004 (age 21) 2 0 Italy Empoli
4 3MF Matteo Prati (2003-12-28) 28 December 2003 (age 21) 15 1 Italy Cagliari
7 3MF Cher Ndour (2004-07-27) 27 July 2004 (age 21) 20 2 Italy Fiorentina
8 3MF Cesare Casadei (2003-01-10) 10 January 2003 (age 22) 16 4 Italy Torino
14 3MF Giovanni Fabbian (2003-01-14) 14 January 2003 (age 22) 17 4 Italy Bologna
18 3MF Issa Doumbia (2003-10-16) 16 October 2003 (age 21) 3 0 Italy Venezia
20 3MF Niccolò Pisilli (2004-09-23) 23 September 2004 (age 20) 13 1 Italy Roma
21 3MF Jacopo Fazzini (2003-03-16) 16 March 2003 (age 22) 5 0 Italy Fiorentina
23 3MF Alessandro Bianco (2002-10-01) 1 October 2002 (age 22) 7 1 Italy Fiorentina
9 4FW Giuseppe Ambrosino (2003-09-10) 10 September 2003 (age 21) 11 2 Italy Napoli
10 4FW Wilfried Gnonto (2003-11-05) 5 November 2003 (age 21) 17 5 England Leeds United
11 3MF Tommaso Baldanzi (2003-03-23) 23 March 2003 (age 22) 10 5 Italy Roma
17 4FW Luca Koleosho (2004-09-15) 15 September 2004 (age 20) 7 1 England Burnley

Recent Call-ups

These players were called up in the last year and can still play for the Under-21 team.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Marco Palestra (2005-03-03) 3 March 2005 (age 20) 3 0 Italy Atalanta 2025 U21 Championship PRE
DF Giovanni Leoni (2006-12-21) 21 December 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Italy Parma 2025 U21 Championship PRE
DF Pietro Comuzzo (2005-02-20) 20 February 2005 (age 20) 0 0 Italy Fiorentina v.  Republic of Ireland, 15 October 2024
MF Simone Pafundi (2006-03-14) 14 March 2006 (age 19) 2 0 Italy Udinese 2025 U21 Championship PRE
FW Francesco Pio Esposito (2005-06-28) 28 June 2005 (age 20) 11 7 Italy Inter 2025 U21 Championship PRE
FW Antonio Raimondo (2004-03-18) 18 March 2004 (age 21) 7 4 Italy Frosinone v.  Republic of Ireland, 15 October 2024

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad

Team Records

Players whose names are in bold can still play for the Under-21 team. Games and goals with the Olympic team are included here.

Most Games Played

Here are the top 10 players with the most appearances for the Italy Under-21 team:

Rank Player Period Caps Goals
1 Andrea Pirlo 1998–2002 46 16
2 Marco Motta 2005–2009 42 1
3 Francesco Bardi 2011–2015 37 0
4 Matteo Brighi 2000–2004 35 2
5 Daniele Bonera 2001–2004 34 0
6 Matteo Ferrari 1999–2002 33 3
7 Luca Marrone 2009–2013 32 1
Alessandro Rosina 2004–2007 32 4
9 Luca Caldirola 2010–2013 31 1
Marco Donadel 2004–2006 31 1

Top Goal Scorers

Here are the top 10 players who have scored the most goals for the Italy Under-21 team:

Rank Player Period Goals Caps Ratio
1 Alberto Gilardino 2000–2004 19 30 0.63
2 Andrea Pirlo 1998–2002 16 46 0.34
3 Manolo Gabbiadini 2010–2013 12 24 0.5
4 Massimo Maccarone 2000–2002 11 15 0.73
Gianluca Vialli 1983–1986 11 20 0.55
Patrick Cutrone 2017–2021 11 25 0.44
7 Cristiano Lucarelli 1996–1997 10 10 1
Robert Acquafresca 2007–2009 10 16 0.62
Christian Vieri 1992–1996 10 19 0.52
10 Gianluca Scamacca 2018–2021 9 15 0.6
Ciro Immobile 2009–2013 9 16 0.56
Andrea Belotti 2013–2015 9 18 0.5
Roberto Mancini 1982–1986 9 26 0.34
Alberto Paloschi 2008–2013 9 29 0.31

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol sub-21 de Italia para niños

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