The Italy Under-18 national team began their preparations for the Under-17 World Cup yesterday in Novarello. The tournament is set to take place in Qatar from 3rd to 27th November. Massimiliano Favo’s Azzurrini arrived in the morning and had their first training session in the afternoon on pitch four, a session filled with determination and focus.

Today’s schedule sees a double training session, in the morning and the afternoon, to get preparations in full swing ahead of their Group A debut against the host Qatar on Monday, 3rd November (16:45 CET) on pitch seven of the Aspire Zone in Doha. Italy will then play Bolivia on Thursday, 6th November (14:30 CET) and South Africa on Sunday, 9th November (16:45 CET) on pitches three and nine, respectively.

The two top teams from each of the twelve groups, as well as the eight best third-place teams, will continue to the Round of 32, scheduled for 14th and 15th November. The Round of 16 and quarterfinals will then take place on 18 and 21 November, while the semi-finals are set to take place on 24 November. The third-place play-off and the final are scheduled for Thursday, 27 November at 15:30 on pitch seven and 15 19:00 at the Khalifa International Stadium in the Aspire Zone in Doha, respectively.

This will be the Azzurrini’s seventh appearance in the Under-17 World Cup (1991, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2019, and 2025). The furthest Italy has reached has been the quarter finals, first in 2009 in Nigeria with Pasquale Salerno’s side (Switzerland vs. Italy 2-1, 8 November), and later in 2019 in Brazil with the team led by Carmine Nunziata (Italy vs. Brazil 0-2, 12 November). Nunziata is now the coach of the Under-20 National team, which recently played in the World Cup in Chile, ending their run in the Round of 16 (USA vs. Italy, 3-0, 9 November).

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Francesco Cereser (Torino), Alessandro Longoni (Milan), Sebastiano Nava (Juventus);
Defenders: Borasio Benit (Juventus), Leonardo Noah Bovio (Inter), Cristiano De Paoli (Como), Dauda Amihere Iddrisa (West Bromwich Albion), Jean-Tryfose Mambuku (Stade de Reims), David Marini (Cesena), Luca Reggiani (Borussia Dortmund);
Midfielders: Alessio Baralla (Empoli), Andrea Luongo (Torino), Valerio Maccaroni (Roma), Fabio Pandolfi (Milan), Vincenzo Prisco (Napoli), Federico Steffanoni (Atalanta);
Forwards: Antonio Arena (Roma), Thomas Campaniello (Empoli), Destiny Onoguekhan Elimoghale (Juventus), Samuele Inácio (Borussia Dortmund), Simone Lontani (Milan).

Staff – Head Coach: Massimiliano Favo; Head of Delegation: Filippo Corti; Vice Coordinator of Youth National Teams: Daniele Zoratto; Assistant Coach: Davide Cei; Goalkeeping Coach: Davide Quironi; Fitness Coach: Adalberto Zamuner; Match Analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Medical Team: Sofia Calaciura Clarich and Alessio Rossato; Physiotherapists: Giorgio Giannini and Enrico Matera; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; Academic Tutor: Stefano Presciutti; Press Officer: Alessandro Paoli; Administrator: Antonio Martuscelli; Club Italia: Riccardo Poggetti; Team Secretary: Massimo Petracchini.

FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025

Group Stage (3-11 November)

Group A: Qatar, ITALY, South Africa, Bolivia
Group B: Japan, Morocco, New Caledonia, Portugal
Group C: Senegal, Croatia, Costa Rica, United Arab Emirates
Group D: Argentina, Belgium, Tunisia, Fiji
Group E: England, Venezuela, Haiti, Egypt
Group F: Mexico, South Korea, Côte d’Ivoire, Switzerland
Group G: Germany, Colombia, North Korea, El Salvador
Group H: Brazil, Honduras, Indonesia, Zambia
Group I: United States, Burkina Faso, Tajikistan, Czechia
Group J: Paraguay, Uzbekistan, Panama, Ireland
Group K: France, Chile, Canada, Uganda
Group L: Mali, New Zealand, Austria, Saudi Arabia

FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025

Matchday 1 (3-5 November)

Monday, 3 November
13:30 – South Africa vs. Bolivia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 3 (Doha)
13:30 – Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates, Aspire Zone, Pitch 8 (Doha)
14:00 – Senegal vs. Croatia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 1 (Doha)
14:30 – Japan vs. Morocco, Aspire Zone, Pitch 5 (Doha)
15:45 – Argentina vs. Belgium, Aspire Zone, Pitch 2 (Doha)
16:15 – New Caledonia vs. Portugal, Aspire Zone, Pitch 4 (Doha)
16:45 – Qatar vs. ITALY, Aspire Zone, Pitch 7 (Doha)
16:45 – Tunisia vs. Fiji, Aspire Zone, Pitch 9 (Doha)

Tuesday, 4 November
13:30 – Côte d’Ivoire vs. Switzerland, Aspire Zone, Pitch 8 (Doha)
13:30 – Brazil vs. Honduras, Aspire Zone, Pitch 3 (Doha)
14:00 – Mexico vs. South Korea, Aspire Zone, Pitch 1 (Doha)
14:30 – Haiti vs. Egypt, Aspire Zone, Pitch 5 (Doha)
15:45 – Germany vs. Colombia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 2 (Doha)
16:15 – England vs. Venezuela, Aspire Zone, Pitch 4 (Doha)
16:45 – North Korea vs. El Salvador, Aspire Zone, Pitch 9 (Doha)
16:45 – Indonesia vs. Zambia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 7 (Doha)

Wednesday, 5 November
13:30 – Tajikistan vs. Czechia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 8 (Doha)
13:30 – Panama vs. Ireland, Aspire Zone, Pitch 3 (Doha)
14:00 – Paraguay vs. Uzbekistan, Aspire Zone, Pitch 1 (Doha)
14:30 – Austria vs. Saudi Arabia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 5 (Doha)
15:45 – Mali vs. New Zealand, Aspire Zone, Pitch 2 (Doha)
16:15 – United States vs. Burkina Faso, Aspire Zone, Pitch 4 (Doha)
16:45 – France vs. Chile, Aspire Zone, Pitch 7 (Doha)
16:45 – Canada vs. Uganda, Aspire Zone, Pitch 9 (Doha)

Matchday 2 (6-8 November)

Thursday, 6 November
13:30 – Bolivia vs. ITALY, Aspire Zone, Pitch 3 (Doha)
13:30 – Portugal vs. Morocco, Aspire Zone, Pitch 8 (Doha)
14:00 – Japan vs. New Caledonia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 1 (Doha)
14:30 – Argentina vs. Tunisia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 5 (Doha)
15:45 – Fiji vs. Belgium, Aspire Zone, Pitch 2 (Doha)
16:15 – United Arab Emirates vs. Croatia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 4 (Doha)
16:45 – Qatar vs. South Africa, Aspire Zone, Pitch 7 (Doha)
16:45 – Senegal vs. Costa Rica, Aspire Zone, Pitch 9 (Doha)

Friday, 7 November
13:30 – England vs. Haiti, Aspire Zone, Pitch 3 (Doha)
13:30 – El Salvador vs. Colombia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 8 (Doha)
14:00 – Germany vs. North Korea, Aspire Zone, Pitch 1 (Doha)
14:30 – Egypt vs. Venezuela, Aspire Zone, Pitch 5 (Doha)
15:45 – Mexico vs. Côte d’Ivoire, Aspire Zone, Pitch 2 (Doha)
16:15 – Switzerland vs. South Korea, Aspire Zone, Pitch 4 (Doha)
16:45 – Brazil vs. Indonesia, Aspire Zone, Pitch 7 (Doha)
16:45 – Zambia vs. Honduras, Aspire Zone, Pitch 9 (Doha)

Saturday, 8 November
13:30 – Czechia vs. Burkina Faso, Aspire Zone, Pitch 3 (Doha)
13:30 – Uganda vs. Chile, Aspire Zone, Pitch 8 (Doha)
14:00 – Mali vs. Austria, Aspire Zone, Pitch 1 (Doha)
14:30 – France vs. Canada, Aspire Zone, Pitch 5 (Doha)
15:45 – United States vs. Tajikistan, Aspire Zone, Pitch 2 (Doha)
16:15 – Paraguay vs. Panama, Aspire Zone, Pitch 4 (Doha)
16:45 – Ireland vs. Uzbekistan, Aspire Zone, Pitch 9 (Doha)
16:45 – Saudi Arabia vs. New Zealand, Aspire Zone, Pitch 7 (Doha)

Knockout Stage (14–27 November)

Round of 32: Friday, 14 November & Saturday, 15 November
Round of 16: Tuesday, 18 November
Quarter-finals: Friday, 21 November
Semi-finals: Monday, 24 November

Finals (Thursday, 27 November)

Third Place Play-off
13:30: Loser SF1 vs. Loser SF2, Aspire Zone, Pitch seven (Doha)

Final
17:00: Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2, Aspire Zone, Khalifa International Stadium (Doha).