From Willy Gnonto's celebration in Cork to the last second of the match at Ireland's home, four months have passed. The journey of the Under 21 National Team in the 2025 European Championship qualifiers restarts from that group embrace, and from a second round that will see Carmine Nunziata's team - leading Group A with 11 points - play four out of five matches at home to secure a ticket to Slovakia. It starts at the 'Dino Manuzzi' stadium in Cesena on Friday against Latvia (at 18:15 CET live on Rai 2), then continues on Tuesday the 26 March at the 'Paolo Mazza' stadium in Ferrara in a tour of Emilia-Romagna that will also see the senior National Team face Turkey in a friendly in June.

Nunziata will not have Edoardo Bove available - who left the retreat on Monday due to plantar fasciitis - and the other Romanista, Tommaso Baldanzi, returned to the capital due to a groin problem. Cristian Volpato, on the other hand, hasn't trained in these days due to a flu attack. Despite the absences, however, Nunziata has plenty of options, and the double home commitment represents a double opportunity to extend their lead in the standings. "We have two crucial home matches for our journey, we must try to get the maximum to steer the standings - the coach's words. - Moreover, in this window, our direct opponents will play one match and not two, so we must try to deliver two great performances to turn them into two positive results."

The qualification journey for EURO 2025 had started precisely in Latvia (0-0 in Jurmala) and Turkey (2-0 in Kocaeli), in September: it feels like a lifetime ago. "When you come together after so long (last gathering in November, editor's note), the fundamental thing is to give continuity to the work we left, restoring mentality and intensity, becoming a team again. We know National Teams are like this, we have to try to do our job in a short time. I believe we are a strong team, and results in most cases depend on us: I will ask to play to the best of our abilities to win the match."

However, Latvia, in the first leg, proved to be a tough opponent: "They close well, they have a central block that is difficult to overcome, and they are good at set pieces. We will have to be careful and patient, taking advantage of the few spaces they will give us." The Italy in retreat at Cesenatico is making headway in their respective clubs: "The boys have earned these opportunities, they are playing a lot, and it means they have deserved it. This is important for the National Team." Goalkeeper Sebastiano Desplanches, who hasn't missed a minute in the first five matches, has yet to play a minute in the league with his club, Palermo. "But the work Fabrizio Ferron (goalkeeping coach, editor's note) is doing is incredible. And Sebastiano, although he doesn't play, has always performed well in the National Team."

The interchange with the A National Team is continuous (and the words of Coach Spalletti demonstrate this), but the same goes for the lower National Teams. "Spalletti pays great attention to young players, also because we are part of the same family," says Nunziata. "Here we could have brought Pafundi, but the Under 19 is playing an important qualification round for the European Championship, and it's right that he goes to strengthen that team."

The debate proposed by Spalletti on managing players' free time during retreats has returned to the agenda these days: "An athlete needs to play matches, that's why they need to be in good physical condition - Nunziata's point of view. - If you want to play at a high level, you need to train, but recovery is also important. No one forbids video games, but when it's time to rest, you have to rest."

INITIATIVES: In the stands of the 'Dino Manuzzi' stadium (about 3,000 tickets already issued), there will be 1,200 young people from local youth sector clubs, involving the Youth and School Sector of the FIGC, on a day that will also include the delivery of diplomas to 2nd and 3rd level football schools to clubs in the provinces of Forlì/Cesena, Ravenna, and Rimini (the same will happen on Tuesday in Ferrara with those from the provinces of Ferrara and Modena). Additionally, during halftime, there will be a performance by the flag-wavers of Faenza.

SHADES OF AZZURRO: The traveling exhibition of the Football Museum makes a stop in Cesena and Ferrara. Also on Friday, from 8:00 CET to 13:30 CET, free entry at the Cesena Town Hall (Piazza del Popolo, 10). At the Ferrara Town Hall, instead, the exhibition will be open from Sunday 24 March to Tuesday 26 March.

List of call-ups:

Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Palermo), Filippo Rinaldi (Olbia), Gioele Zacchi (Giana Erminio);

Defenders: Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Diego Coppola (Hellas Verona), Daniele Ghilardi (Sampdoria), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Pirola (Salernitana), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (San Gallo)

Midfielders: Alessandro Bianco (Reggiana), Cesare Casadei (Chelsea), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Jacopo Fazzini (Empoli), Luis Hasa (Juventus), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Cher Ndour (Braga), Matteo Prati (Cagliari), Franco Tongya (Aek Larnaca), Cristian Volpato (Sassuolo);

Forwards: Giuseppe Ambrosino (Catanzaro), Lorenzo Colombo (Monza), Francesco Pio Esposito (Spezia), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Gaetano Pio Oristanio (Cagliari).

UEFA EURO UNDER 21 2025 - GROUP A

Friday, 22 March

18:00 CET: San Marino vs. Ireland

18:15 CET: ITALY vs. Latvia (live on Rai 2)

Tuesday, 26 March

17:00 CET: Norway vs. San Marino

18:15 CET: ITALY vs. Turkey (live on Rai 2)

Standings (with matches played in parentheses): ITALY (5) 11 points, Ireland (5) 10, Norway (5) 9, Latvia (7) 5, Turkey (5) 6, San Marino (5) 0

ITALY'S UPCOMING MATCHES

Thursday, 5 September: Italy vs. San Marino

Tuesday, 10 September: Norway vs. Italy

Tuesday, 15 October: Italy vs. Ireland

The Schedule

Friday, 22 March

18:15 CET: ITALY vs. Latvia (Dino Manuzzi Stadium in Cesena)

followed by a press conference

Saturday, 23 March

15:30 CET: Training session at Stadio Macrelli in San Mauro Pascoli (open to the press)

Sunday, 24 March

11:00 CET: Training session at Stadio Macrelli in San Mauro Pascoli (open to the press)

Monday, 25 March

11:00 CET: Training session at Stadio Macrelli in San Mauro Pascoli (closed to the press)

14:15 CET: Nunziata's press conference (Zoom and in person, at the Grand Hotel da Vinci)

To be confirmed: Walkaround at the Paolo Mazza Stadium in Ferrara

Tuesday, 26 March

18:15 CET: ITALY vs. Turkey (Paolo Mazza Stadium in Ferrara)

followed by a press conference and delegation dissolution