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Friendlies with the European Championship in mind. Having qualified for the final tournament in Albania and Serbia in 2027 with the draw scheduled to take place in Belgrade on 26 November the Under-21 national team will return to action during the November international window for two friendlies of considerable importance. On Friday 13 November (18:30, live on Rai 2), the Azzurrini will travel to Laval to face France, while Belgium will be their opponents on Monday 16 November at the Armando Picchi Stadium in Livorno (kick-off at 18:15, live on Rai 2).
THE SQUAD. A total of 26 players will meet at the CPO in Tirrenia from this Sunday, where Italy will remain until Thursday 12 November, the day they depart for France. Mancini has called up five players who featured in the 6-2 victory over Poland in Pescara, which secured the Azzurrini’s place at the European Championship: Ahanor, Pisilli, Liberali, Cisse and Koleosho. For Baldini, there are three new faces: Bologna goalkeeper Massimo Pessina, Monza defender Eddy Kouadio and Borussia Dortmund forward Samuele Inacio, all three having been involved with the senior national team last October.
Filippo Mane of Borussia Dortmund returns to the defence, while Lorenzo Amatucci is back in midfield. He has impressed during the first part of the season with Deportivo La Coruña and returns to the Azzurri setup more than a year after September 2025, when he was called up — but did not make his debut — for the first two matches of the European Championship qualifying campaign.
There are also three returns in attack: Torino’s Alessio Cacciamani, who has been absent since March 2026; Jeff Ekhator, now at Juventus, who has already made six Under-21 appearances and scored twice under Baldini; and Dominic Vavassori, who has scored six times so far for Serie B leaders Palermo. Vavassori’s only appearance for the Azzurrini came last June in a friendly against Albania in Fontanafredda, with Nunziata in charge while Baldini was serving as interim head coach of the senior national team.
THE UNDER-21s IN LIVORNO. Monday 16 November will mark the fifth time the Under-21 national team have played in Livorno. The Azzurrini have won three of their four matches in the Tuscan city, with the most recent meeting dating back to 2001 against Austria. In the 4-1 friendly victory 25 years ago, Cipriani scored twice, while Pirlo and Ferrari also found the net.
HEAD-TO-HEAD. Italy and France have a long history of Under-21 encounters, with 22 previous meetings and a very balanced record of seven wins apiece and eight draws. These include a 0-0 draw in the 1994 European Championship semi-final in Montpellier, when the Azzurrini went on to win 5-3 on penalties (Panucci, Vieri, Berretta, Marcolin and Carbone scored; Carotti, Ouédec and Zidane converted for the French, while Makelele missed). Italy’s victory secured their place in the final, where Cesare Maldini’s side beat Portugal 1-0 thanks to Orlandini’s golden goal, claiming their second consecutive Under-21 European Championship.
Two years later, Italy met France again in the semi-finals and once more came out on top, winning 1-0 with a goal from Totti. They then beat Spain on penalties in the final, with De La Peña and Raúl missing, to claim a third consecutive title — a feat no other team has achieved in the competition’s history.
Italy have faced Belgium eight times, recording three wins, four defeats and one draw. The most recent meeting came at the 2019 European Championship, hosted by Italy and San Marino. Italy won 3-1 with goals from Cutrone, Barella and Chiesa, although the victory was not enough to send the Azzurrini through to the semi-finals.
MEDIA ACTIVITIES AND ACCREDITATION. The first press conference of the training camp, featuring coach Silvio Baldini, will take place on Monday 9 November at 13:30 at the CPO in Tirrenia and online. A second press conference from Tirrenia, following the same format, will be held on Thursday 12 November at 12:30. On Sunday 15 November at 18:30, the pre-match press conference ahead of Italy-Belgium will take place at the Armando Picchi Stadium in Livorno.
Please note that in-person access to the Livorno press conference, which will also be available online, will be reserved for those accredited for the match on Monday 16 November and will depend on the availability of working positions. Accreditation requests must be submitted by Monday 9 November at 12:00 CET.
Finally, with the exception of the training session on Saturday 14 November, sessions at the CPO in Tirrenia will be open to the media for the first 15 minutes. Any requests to access the Olympic Training Centre must be submitted by 18:00 on the preceding day by emailing m.santi@figc.it.
THE SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Giovanni Daffara (Parma), Diego Mascardi (Torino), Lorenzo Palmisani (Frosinone), Massimo Pessina (Bologna);
Defenders: Davide Bartesaghi (Milan), Gabriele Calvani (Frosinone), Fabio Chiarodia (Borussia M’Gladbach), Pietro Comuzzo (Torino), Eddy Kouadio (Monza), Emanuele Lulli (Roma), Filippo Mane (Borussia Dortmund), Brando Moruzzi (Avellino);
Midfielders: Lorenzo Amatucci (Deportivo La Coruña), Tommaso Berti (Cremonese), Matteo Cichella (Frosinone), Matteo Dagasso (Venezia), Giacomo Faticanti (Avellino), Luca Lipani (Sassuolo), Cher Ndour (Fiorentina);
Forwards: Alessio Cacciamani (Torino), Francesco Camarda (Milan), Luigi Cherubini (Benevento), Jeff Ekhator (Juventus), Seydou Fini (Frosinone), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Dominic Vavassori (Palermo).