He may be young (very young, in fact), but he’s already one of the most experienced players in the group that gathered at Coverciano last Thursday. Born in 2004, Niccolò Pisilli has already experienced several firsts in senior football. His breakthrough came in May 2023, when José Mourinho decided it was time for his "youngster" to step onto the biggest stage of all: Serie A. Now, approaching his 22nd birthday, Niccolò has become a regular presence for Roma and one of the leading candidates to play a key role in the future of the Italy national team.

"We're here, and we've been given a great opportunity," he said in his press conference. "We just need to stay calm and focus on playing. It's always an honour to wear this shirt."

After Luciano Spalletti, who handed him his Italy debut in October 2024, and Gennaro Gattuso, who called him up for the World Cup play-offs, Baldini is already the third Italy coach to place his trust in the young star. The current interim head coach also gave him regular opportunities with the Under-21s at the start of the season, when he was seeing limited playing time at Roma.

"The coach is a very genuine and sincere person who passes on important values to us. He often talks about things that go beyond football, and it's up to us to take those messages on board. During our two or two-and-a-half hours of training every day, he tells us that we have to be 100% focused on what we're doing, because those hours are where our development as footballers and as people takes place."

TEAMMATES ON THE JOURNEY. Over the past few days at Coverciano, Pisilli has reunited with several team-mates, namely Ndour, Lipani and Koleosho, with whom he shared the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia last year and the UEFA European Under-19 Championship title in Malta in 2023. A generation of Italy talents that has progressed through every youth level before reaching the senior national team.

"I hope there will be more and more opportunities for young Italian players because many of us have shown this season, including with our clubs, that we are top footballers." Speaking of young players, Pisilli also highlighted Italy Under-17s' impressive run to the European final after yesterday's victory over Spain. "We watched the penalties together yesterday, and we were all cheering them on. It's always great when one of our national teams progresses to the next round. Italy's youth teams have achieved some really important results in recent years."

WORLD CUP REGRET. Having remained on the bench throughout the 120 minutes of the World Cup play-off final against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pisilli experienced the disappointment of missing out on qualification from the sidelines. Zenica remains a painful and recent memory, even for a player who hopes he will have future opportunities to make amends. "It was a huge disappointment. We all wanted to play at the World Cup this summer. On the pitch, we gave everything we had, but then a series of incidents and circumstances affected the match. But the team was 100 per cent focused on the objective."

SEARCHING FOR HIS FIRST GOAL. For a midfielder, finding the net is important. It's about timing and being in the right place at the right moment. Pisilli possesses that instinct naturally, and in Luxembourg, he came close to scoring his first Italy goal on at least three occasions. It was still a positive performance, highlighted by the corner-kick assist for Esposito's goal. "Pio is a great footballer, but there are many other great players here as well. Against Luxembourg, the whole team performed well. At the start, there was perhaps a little emotion and tension, but then we settled into the game."

A SEASON OF GROWTH. It took Pisilli some time to understand exactly what Gian Piero Gasperini wanted from him. He sees similarities between Gasperini and Baldini "in the desire to press high, put opponents under pressure and always play on the front foot". He found opportunities limited during the first part of the season, and in January, a loan move appeared close. It was Gasperini himself, however, who insisted on keeping him in Rome, a decision that proved successful as the Roma midfielder enjoyed an excellent second half of the campaign and helped the club secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League. "At the beginning, I struggled to find space, but I always tried to give my best in training and understand as well as possible what the coach was asking of me. In December, I got more opportunities, and I think I did quite well to make the most of them. Fortunately, both personally and as a team, the season ended in the best possible way."

CACCIAMANI CALLED UP. Following the withdrawals of Marco Palestra and Luigi Cherubini yesterday, Silvio Baldini has called up Alessio Cacciamani. The 2007-born forward, receiving his first senior national team call-up, has already joined the squad at Coverciano and will take part in this afternoon's training session.

SPECIAL GUESTS. This afternoon, a group of young people affected by mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) will have the opportunity to visit the Football Museum and watch the Azzurri training session. This opportunity to provide a moment of enjoyment and excitement close to the national team players has also been made possible by the 18th International Symposium on Mucopolysaccharidosis and Related Lysosomal Diseases (www.mps2026.com), currently taking place in Florence and running until Sunday 7 June. The globally significant event brings together doctors, professionals, associations and families from around the world to raise awareness of these rare diseases and explore new treatment pathways through the latest advances in genetics.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Giovanni Daffara (Avellino), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Lorenzo Palmisani (Frosinone);

Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Atalanta), Davide Bartesaghi (Milan), Fabio Chiarodia (Borussia Monchengladbach), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Costantino Favasuli (Catanzaro), Niccolò Fortini (Fiorentina), Filippo Mane (Borussia Dortmund), Luca Reggiani (Borussia Dortmund);

Midfielders: Tommaso Berti (Cesena), Matteo Dagasso (Venezia), Giacomo Faticanti (Juventus), Luca Lipani (Sassuolo), Cher Ndour (Fiorentina), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma);

Forwards: Alessio Cacciamani (Juve Stabia), Francesco Camarda (Lecce), Jeff Ekhator (Genoa), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Seydou Fini (Frosinone), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Luca Koleosho (Paris FC).