The countdown is over: tomorrow (16:00 local time, 17:00 CEST), Italy will kick off their UEFA European Under-19 Championship campaign against Serbia at The Oval in Caernarfon in the opening match of Group B, with the tournament taking place in Wales through to 11 July.

“There is great enthusiasm and commitment from the players in training,” head coach Alberto Bollini said in his interview with Vivo Azzurro TV. “This is also a period when club competitions have finished and many of them have just completed their final school exams, which is an important milestone. It’s a group that shows unity and calm, both on and off the pitch.”

Bollini, the only one of the eight coaches at the tournament to have previously won the UEFA Under-19 European Championship, returns to the finals for the second time in his career, three years after leading Italy to the title in Malta. That triumph secured the Azzurrini's second Under-19 European crown, following their first success in 2003.

“On a personal level, it is always a source of pride and satisfaction to wear the Italy shirt because you represent not only Italian football, but Italian sport as a whole,” Bollini added. “Sport is built on sacrifice, the desire to improve and education, values that we must pass on to these young players. We have wonderful memories from three years ago because we were not the favourites, yet we managed to win a trophy Italy had waited twenty years for. In sport, you must always be ready to reset and start again. That is exactly what we want to do here: begin this tournament in the best possible way.”

Italy head into the tournament as the youngest team in the competition, with an average age of just 18.7 years. “At Under-19 level, you either keep progressing or you stop,” Bollini added. “If some players accelerate that development process, even better. This squad includes four players making their debut at a UEFA Under-19 Championship finals – Antonio Arena, Cristiano De Paoli, Destiny Onoguekhan Elimoghale and Samuel Wiafe – and throughout the season we have given opportunities to 58 different players across friendlies and tournaments.”

Looking ahead to the opening match, Bollini also praised Serbia: “They fully deserve to be here. In the Elite Round they defeated England and Poland and also drew with Portugal. They are a strong team. In a tournament like this, you have to take it one game at a time, knowing that the most important match is always the next one.”

THE OPPOSITION

Coached by Gordan Petrić, Serbia return to the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals for the first time since 2022. Winners of the competition in 2013, the Balkan nation are making their ninth appearance at the tournament, following previous participations in 2005 (as Serbia and Montenegro), 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2022.

Serbia finished second in Group 6 during the first qualifying round, held in Croatia in November, collecting six points behind the hosts and ahead of Georgia and Gibraltar. They then topped Elite Round Group 2 in Portugal with seven points, finishing above England, Portugal and Poland to secure their place in Wales.

Italy hold the upper hand in the head-to-head record between the two nations at Under-19 level, with five wins, one draw and one defeat in seven meetings. Their most recent encounter came in a friendly on 14 October 2023, when the Azzurrini claimed a 3-1 victory thanks to a brace from Simone Pafundi and a goal from Alphadjo Cisse, while Jovan Mijatović scored for Serbia.

ITALY UNDER-19 SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Tommaso Vannucchi (Cosenza), Massimo Pessina (Bologna).

Defenders: Matteo Cocchi (Inter), Federico Nardin (Roma), Andrea Natali (AZ Alkmaar), Cristiano De Paoli (Como), Francesco Verde (Juventus), Mattia Marello (Inter), Niccolò Rizzo (Juventus).

Midfielders: Federico Coletta (Benfica), Emanuele Sala (AC Milan), Mattia Liberali (Catanzaro), Christian Comotto (Spezia), Samuel Wiafe (Modena), Matteo Mantini (Grasshopper).

Forwards: Javison Osarumwense Idele (Atalanta), Jamal Iddrissou (Inter), Mattia Mosconi (Inter), Destiny Onoguekhan Elimoghale (Juventus), Antonio Arena (Roma).

Staff: Head coach Alberto Bollini; Head of Delegation Gianfranco Serioli; Youth National Teams Coordinator Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant Coach Christian Maggio; Goalkeeping Coach Graziano Vinti; Fitness Coach Nicolò Varesco; Match Analyst Luca Dalmasso; Team Doctors Andrea De Fazio and Francesco Maria Nifosì; Nutritionist Dennis Dell'Unto; Physiotherapists Giuseppe Galli and Simone Siciliano; Club Italia Scout Alessandro Musicco; Administration, Finance and Control Antonio Martuscelli; Press Officer Alessandro Paoli; Team Secretary Aldo Blessich.

UEFA European Under-19 Championship Wales 2026 | Final Tournament

Group Stage (28 June – 5 July)

Group A: Wales, Denmark, Germany, Spain
Group B: Croatia, Serbia, Italy, Ukraine

Matchday 1

Sunday 28 June

  • 19:00 CET: Wales vs Spain – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

  • 21:00 CET: Germany vs Denmark – Central Park, Denbigh

Monday 29 June

  • 17:00 CET: Italy vs Serbia – The Oval, Caernarfon

  • 21:00 CET: Croatia vs Ukraine – Bangor City Stadium, Bangor

Matchday 2

Wednesday 1 July

  • 19:00 CET: Denmark vs Spain – Central Park, Denbigh

  • 21:00 CET: Wales vs Germany – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Thursday 2 July

  • 15:00 CET: Croatia vs Italy – The Oval, Caernarfon

  • 19:00 CET: Serbia vs Ukraine – Bangor City Stadium, Bangor

Matchday 3

Saturday 4 July

  • 15:00 CET: Denmark vs Wales – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

  • 15:00 CET: Spain vs Germany – Central Park, Denbigh

Sunday 5 July

  • 17:00 CET: Ukraine vs Italy – Bangor City Stadium, Bangor

  • 17:00 CET: Serbia vs Croatia – The Oval, Caernarfon

Knockout Stage (8–11 July)

FIFA U-20 World Cup Azerbaijan–Uzbekistan 2027 Play-Off

Wednesday 8 July

  • 15:00 CET: Third Place Group A vs Third Place Group B – Bangor City Stadium, Bangor

Semi-finals

Wednesday 8 July

  • SF1 – 17:30 CET: Group A Winners vs Group B Runners-up – Central Park, Denbigh

  • SF2 – 20:00 CET: Group B Winners vs Group A Runners-up – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Final

Saturday 11 July

  • 20:00 CET: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham

Note: All kick-off times are listed in CET (Central European Time).