"We hope to repay all the fans in Marche for the love they've shown us over these past two days." Italy Under-19 coach Massimiliano Favo lives in Ancona, where he previously played and coached. His side will begin Round 2 of European Championship qualifying at the Stadio del Conero against Romania (Wednesday at 3:30 PM CET, live on RaiSport), Ukraine (Saturday 14 November at 3:30 PM CET in Fano, live on RaiPlay) and Israel (Tuesday 17 November in Fermo, live on RaiSport). Three places in the third and final qualifying round, scheduled for March, are at stake. There has been plenty of enthusiasm in Moie, where the national team has been training, with large crowds watching the open sessions from the stands. Among those in attendance was Aldo Mancini, father of the senior national team head coach, who posed for a photo with the Azzurrini after yesterday afternoon's training session. The squad has also been joined today by Parma player Simone Lontani, who will link up with the Under-19s after spending two days at Coverciano with Roberto Mancini’s squad.

 

The Under-19 national team received a visit from Aldo Mancini, father of the senior national team head coach, during a training session in Moie.

Yesterday evening, the Azzurrini's base in Jesi also hosted a roundtable discussion organised by AIAC Marche and its provincial groups. Favo and Youth National Teams Coordinator Maurizio Viscidi met with coaches to review the afternoon's training session before discussing playing systems and tactical variations, using video footage and technical explanations to help them.

The meeting with coaches at the national team's base in Jesi.

A SPECIAL OCCASION For Favo, who played for Ancona between 1998 and 2002 and coached the club from 2011 to 2013, the match against Romania will be particularly meaningful. "I was delighted when the decision was made to play in Marche," he explained. "We'll be playing here, at home for me, with so much interest in, and love for, the Azzurri shirt and these young players. I went to see the pitch at the Stadio del Conero, and just being there brought back memories. It will be wonderful to have my wife and grandchildren supporting me, as they can't follow me to tournaments abroad." Favo's squad includes several players who won bronze at the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar this time last year, as well as a number who have already featured in Serie A. They include Lontani and Samuel Wiafe, who started for De Rossi’s Genoa team in last Sunday's match against AC Milan.

 

THE OPPOSITION Italy's first opponents in Group A6 will be Romania. Coached by Marin Ion, Romania earned promotion from League B after finishing top of Group B1 with seven points and 16 goals in three matches. Seven of the 20 players in the squad play in Italy: defenders Fabio Badarau (Monza), Raul Cojocariu (Atalanta), Davide Moisa (Verona) and Stefano Precupanu (Juventus), midfielders Sebastian Burlacu (Como) and Rares Coman (Sassuolo), and forward Fernando Pellegrini (Catanzaro).

 

LONGONI OUT Goalkeeper Alessandro Longoni (Paris Saint-Germain) will miss Round 2 in Marche due to a fitness-related problem. Favo has called up Andrea Maran (Modena) as his replacement.

 

TICKETS Admission to all Round 2 matches will be free, but spectators must have a ticket, which can be downloaded from the Vivaticket website.

 

Get your free ticket for Italy vs. Romania

Get your free ticket for Italy vs. Ukraine

Get your free ticket for Israel vs. Italy

 

MEDIA ACCREDITATION Journalists, photographers and media personnel wishing to cover the European Under-19 Championship Round 2 qualifying matches can request accreditation by emailing press@figc.it and m.calabresi@guest.figc.it, with the subject line "Under-19 National Team Media Accreditation", by 6:00 PM CET on the day before each match. Alternatively, a single email may be submitted requesting accreditation for all the matches they wish to attend.

 

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Alessandro Anelli (Atalanta), Andrea Maran (Modena);

 

Defenders: Benit Borasio (Juventus), Leonardo Noah Bovio (Inter), Cristiano De Paoli (Como), Jean Tryfose Mambuku (Stade de Reims), Mattia Marello (Inter), David Marini (Cesena), Andrea Natali (AZ Alkmaar);

 

Midfielders: Andrea Ballanti (Torino), Vincenzo Damiano (Genoa), Samuele Liberali (Sassuolo), Valerio Maccaroni (Roma), Vincenzo Prisco (Bari), Federico Steffanoni (Atalanta), Samuel Wiafe (Genoa);

 

Forwards: Antonio Arena (Roma), Destiny Elimoghale (Juventus), Christian Fogliaro (Monza), Simone Lontani (Parma).

 

Staff - Head Coach: Massimiliano Favo; Head of Delegation: Gianfranco Serioli; Youth National Teams Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant Coach: Davide Cei; Fitness Coach: Adalberto Zamuner; Goalkeeping Coach: Davide Quironi; Match Analyst: Andrea Loiacono; Doctors: Andrea Serdoz, Alessio Rossato; Physiotherapists: Giorgio Giannini, Manolo Ruggiero; Nutritionist: Claudio Pecorella; Secretary: Massimo Petracchini

 

UEFA UNDER 19 CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 2

League A – Group A6

Matchday 1 – Wednesday 11 November

12:00 PM CET: Ukraine vs Israel (Fermo)

3:30 PM CET: ITALY vs. Romania (Ancona), live on RaiSport

 

Matchday 2 – Saturday 14 November

12:00 PM CET: Israel vs. Romania (Fermo)

3:30 PM CET: ITALY vs. Ukraine (Fano), live on RaiPlay

 

Matchday 3 – Tuesday 17 November

1:00 PM CET: Israel vs. ITALY (Fermo), live on RaiSport

1:00 PM CET: Romania vs. Ukraine (Ancona)