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After three days of intensive training at Novarello, yesterday morning Massimiliano Favo’s U18s set off for Doha, the host city of the Under-17 World Cup, which is taking place from 3 to 27 November in Qatar.
In the evening, the Azzurrini held their first training session on Qatari soil and, in doing so, began to acclimatise to their new environment ahead of their Group A opener against the hosts on Monday 3 November (18:45 local time / 16:45 CET) on Pitch 7 in the Aspire Zone. They’ll then face Bolivia on Thursday 6 November (15:30 local time / 13:30 CET) and South Africa on Sunday 9 November (18:45 local time / 16:45 CET) on Pitches 3 and 9, respectively.
The top two teams from each of the twelve groups, along with the eight best third-placed sides, will advance to the round of 32, scheduled for 14 and 15 November. The round of 16 will take place on 18 November, the quarter-finals on 21 November, and the semi-finals on 24 November. The third-place play-off and the final will be played on Thursday 27 November, with the latter taking place at the Khalifa International Stadium in the Aspire Zone.
This will be the Azzurrini’s seventh appearance at the Under-17 World Cup (1991, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2019, and 2025). The furthest Italy have gone is the quarter-finals, first in 2009 in Nigeria when Pasquale Salerno’s side were beaten 2-1 by Switzerland, and later in 2019 in Brazil when Carmine Nunziata’s team were defeated 2-0 by the hosts. Nunziata is now the Head Coach of the U20s, who were recently involved in the World Cup in Chile, where they were eliminated by the USA in the round of 16.
SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Francesco Cereser (Torino), Alessandro Longoni (Milan), Sebastiano Nava (Juventus);
Defenders: Benit Borasio (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; Delegation Head: Filippo Corti; Vice Coordinator of National Youth Teams: Daniele Zoratto; Assistant Coach: Davide Cei; Goalkeeping Coach: Davide Quironi; Fitness Coach: Adalberto Zamuner; Match Analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Doctors: Sofia Calaciura Clarich and Alessio Rossato; Physiotherapists: Giorgio Giannini and Enrico Matera; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; Academic Tutor: Stefano Presciutti; Press Office: Alessandro Paoli; Administrator: Antonio Martuscelli; Club Italia: Riccardo Poggetti; 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
