In the second and final warm-up match ahead of the World Cup, scheduled for the end of September, the U20s, who had beaten England 2-1 on Friday, suffered a 4-0 defeat to Germany. At the Stadion an der Kreuzeiche in Reutlingen, near Stuttgart, Carmine Nunziata completely overhauled the team from the one that started against England.

Germany made a strong start and took the lead in the 15th minute through Ouedraogo, who has made two substitute appearances (totalling seven minutes) for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga this season. The Azzurrini were unable to respond, and the hosts continued to dominate the match, doubling their advantage in the 34th minute through Brunner.

Before the end of the half, Ibrahimovic – currently at Heidenheim (on loan from Bayern Munich), but with recent spells in Serie A at Frosinone (16 appearances in 2023/24) and Lazio (one appearance in 2024/25) – converted a penalty for the Germans.

Italy improved after the break without, however, ever posing a serious threat. The only other goal, making it 4-0, was again scored by Ouedraogo, who completed his brace. “There’s no doubt that our opponents were stronger than us tonight,” commented Nunziata. “In defence, we switched from five to four at the back and realised that we’re more comfortable with five. These two matches have still been useful for assessing the players before we name our squad for the World Cup, where we aim to give our best on the pitch and enjoy a great experience together.”

From tomorrow, focus shifts to the Under-20 World Cup, which will be held in Chile from 27 September to 19 October. Italy, who finished runners-up in the 2023 edition, have been drawn into Group D and will play all three of their group matches in Valparaíso. They will open their campaign on Sunday 28 September at 23:00 CEST against Australia. Their match against Cuba will be at the same time on Wednesday 1 October, while their game against Argentina will kick off at 02:00 CEST in the night between Saturday 3 October and Sunday 4 October.