Italy national under-21 football team

Italy national under-21 football team
Medal record
Men's Football

Italy Under-21
Nickname(s)	Gli Azzurrini ; (The Little Blues)
Association	Italian Football Federation ; (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio – FIGC)
Head coach	Silvio Baldini
Captain	Luca Lipani
Most caps	Andrea Pirlo (46)
Top scorer	Alberto Gilardino (19)
First colours	Second colours
First international
	U-23: Italy 3–1 Austria ; (Varese, Italy; 1 November 1970); U-21: Portugal 1–0 Italy ; (Funchal, Italy; 23 December 1976)
Biggest win
	Italy 7–0 Estonia ; (Catanzaro, Italy; 23 March 1995); Italy 8–1 Wales ; (Pavia, Italy; 5 September 2003); Italy 7–0 Liechtenstein ; (Casarano, Italy; 6 September 2012); San Marino 0–7 Italy ; (Serravale, San Marino; 16 November 2023); Italy 7–0 San Marino ; (Latina, Italy; 5 September 2024)
Biggest defeat
	Norway 6–0 Italy ; (Stavanger, Norway; 5 June 1991); Records for competitive; matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances	5 (first in 1992)
Best result	Bronze medallist (2004)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances	23 (first in 1978)
Best result	Champions (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004)
Medal record
Medal record
Men's Football

The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.

The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two years. Italy (along with Spain) is the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with five Championships won (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2004). Italy has also been twice runner-up of the competition, in 1986 and 2013.

From 1990 to 2004 the team established near-total dominance of European Under-21 football, winning five of the seven tournaments.

Italy's Under-21s played the first match at the new Wembley Stadium, on 24 March 2007, against England Under-21s. The game resulted in a 3–3 draw, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring all 3 goals for the Azzurrini.

Prior to the 2008 Olympic games, Italy U-21s went on to win the 2008 Toulon Tournament by beating Chile (1–0) in the final. It was the first time they had won this tournament, previously their best had been runner-up on two occasions.^[1]

Honours

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Winner: 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004
Runner-up: 1986, 2013

Summer Olympics

Third place: 2004

Mediterranean Games

Winner: 1997

Maurice Revello Tournament

Winner: 2008
Third place: 2011, 2024

Competitive record

UEFA European Under-21 Championship record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1978	Quarter-finals	2	0	1	1	1	2
1980	2	0	1	1	1	3
1982	2	0	1	1	0	1
1984	Semi-finals	4	3	0	1	4	3
1986	Runners-up	6	3	3	0	10	6
1988	Quarter-finals	2	0	1	1	3	4
1990	Semi-finals	2	1	1	2	5	4
1992	Champions	6	5	0	1	9	2
1994	4	2	1	1	4	1
1996	4	2	1	1	4	2
1998	Did not qualify
2000	Champions	4	3	1	0	8	3
2002	Semi-finals	4	1	2	1	5	5
2004	Champions	5	4	0	1	10	4
2006	Group stage	3	1	1	1	4	4
2007	3	1	1	1	5	4
2009	Semi-finals	4	2	1	1	4	3
2011	Did not qualify
2013	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	9	5
2015	Group stage	3	1	1	1	4	3
2017	Semi-finals	4	2	0	2	5	6
2019	Group stage	3	2	0	1	6	3
2021	Quarter-finals	4	1	2	1	8	6
2023	Group stage	3	1	0	2	4	5
2025	Quarter-finals	4	2	1	1	5	4
2027	To be determined
Total	23/25	83	40	21	22	118	83

Mediterranean Games Record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1951 to 1991	Senior and U23 tournament
1993	Semifinals	4	2	0	2	5	4
1997	Champions	4	3	1	0	11	1
2001	Runners-up	4	3	0	1	5	3
2005 to 2026	U18/U19/U20/U23 tournament
Total	3/3	12	8	1	3	21	8

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Gold background color indicates first-place finish. Silver background color indicates second-place finish. Bronze background color indicates third-place finish.
Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Coaches

1976–1986: Azeglio Vicini
1986–1996: Cesare Maldini
1996–1997: Rossano Giampaglia
1997–2000: Marco Tardelli
2000–2006: Claudio Gentile
2006–2010: Pierluigi Casiraghi
2010–2012: Ciro Ferrara
2012–2013: Devis Mangia
2013–2019: Luigi Di Biagio
2019–2023: Paolo Nicolato
2023–2025: Carmine Nunziata
2025–present: Silvio Baldini

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Silvio Baldini
Assistant coaches	Mauro Nardini Mattia Baldini
Technical assistant	Andrea Barzagli
Goalkeeping coach	Stefano Pardini
Fitness coach	Vito Azzone
Match analysts	Diego Labricciosa Gianluca Mazziotti
Head of delegation	Giancarlo Antognoni
Doctors	Daniele Mazza Vincenzo Santoriello
Physiotherapists	Nicola Sanna Tommaso Cannata

Source:^[2]

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of matches played in the past 12 months and future matches that have been scheduled. Only official matches are listed.^[3]

2025

5 September 2025 (2025-09-05) 2027 Championship qual.	Italy	2–1	Montenegro	La Spezia, Italy
18:15	Lipani 52' Koleosho 79'	Report	Kostic 4'	Stadium: Stadio Alberto Picco

9 September 2025 (2025-09-09) 2027 Championship qual.	North Macedonia	0–1	Italy	Bitola, North Macedonia
18:15		Report	Marianucci 35'	Stadium: Stadium Petar Miloševski Attendance: 7,559 Referee: Genc Nuza (Kosovo)

10 October 2025 (2025-10-10) 2027 Championship qual.	Italy	4–0	Sweden	Cesena, Italy
18:15	Pisilli 12', 45+2' Camarda 40' (pen.) Berti 90+2' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stadio Dino Manuzzi Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck (Germany)

14 October 2025 (2025-10-14) 2027 Championship qual.	Italy	5–1	Armenia	Cremona, Italy
18:15	Dagasso 59' Camarda 62', 72' Fini 75' Ekhator 90+1'	Report	Vardanyan 78'	Stadium: Stadio Giovanni Zini Referee: Gal Levi (Israel)

14 November 2025 (2025-11-14) 2027 Championship qual.	Poland	2–1	Italy	Szczecin, Poland
16:00	Bogacz 83' Kuziemka 87'	Report	Pisilli 61'	Stadium: Florian Krygier Municipal Stadium

18 November 2025 (2025-11-18) 2027 Championship qual.	Montenegro	1–4	Italy	Nikšić, Montenegro
18:30	Mrvaljević 37'	Report	Pisilli 16' Dagasso 60' Camarda 64' Fini 74'	Stadium: City Stadium Referee: Miguel Nogueira (Portugal)

2026

26 March 2026 (2026-03-26) 2027 Championship qual.	Italy	4–0	North Macedonia	Empoli, Italy
18:15	Ndour 3' Lipani 49' Ekhator 50' Fini 86' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stadio Carlo Castellani Attendance: 1,485 Referee: David Dickinson (Scotland)

31 March 2026 (2026-03-31) 2027 Championship qual.	Sweden	0–4	Italy	Borås, Sweden
18:30		Report	Koleosho 19', 22' Ndour 50' Lipani 63'	Stadium: Borås Arena Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'hui (Belgium)

8 June 2026 (2026-06-08) Friendly	Italy	1–0	Albania	Fontanafredda, Italy
18:15	Calvani 63'	Report		Stadium: Stadio Omero Tognon
Note: Due to caretaker spell of coach Silvio Baldini with main roster, former coach Carmine Nunziata acted as head coach.

1 October 2026 2027 Championship qual.

Armenia

v

Italy

TBD, Armenia

5 October 2026 2027 Championship qual.

Italy

v

Poland

TBD, Italy

Players

Players born in 2004 or later are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Players in bold have been already capped with the senior team.

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly match against Albania on 8 June 2026.^[4]

Caps and goals as of 8 June 2026, after the match against Albania.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Diego Mascardi	(2006-09-26) 26 September 2006 (age 19)	2	0	Torino
1GK	Lorenzo Torriani	(2005-01-31) 31 January 2005 (age 21)	1	0	AC Milan
1GK	Lapo Siviero	(2006-11-23) 23 November 2006 (age 19)	0	0	Torino

2DF	Gabriele Guarino	(2004-04-14) 14 April 2004 (age 22)	4	0	Empoli
2DF	Brando Moruzzi	(2004-07-20) 20 July 2004 (age 22)	3	0	Avellino
2DF	Gabriele Calvani	(2004-01-12) 12 January 2004 (age 22)	2	1	Frosinone
2DF	Wisdom Amey	(2005-08-11) 11 August 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Frosinone
2DF	Adam Bakoune	(2006-02-06) 6 February 2006 (age 20)	1	0	Monza
2DF	Cristian Cama	(2007-06-05) 5 June 2007 (age 19)	1	0	Roma Primavera
2DF	Giacomo Stabile	(2005-04-12) 12 April 2005 (age 21)	1	0	Südtirol
2DF	Christian Corradi	(2005-02-21) 21 February 2005 (age 21)	0	0	Hellas Verona

3MF	Kevin Zeroli	(2005-01-11) 11 January 2005 (age 21)	2	0	Milan Futuro
3MF	Federico Cassa	(2006-02-01) 1 February 2006 (age 20)	1	0	Atalanta U23
3MF	Aaron Ciammaglichella	(2005-01-26) 26 January 2005 (age 21)	1	0	Torino
3MF	Alessandro Di Nunzio	(2007-04-21) 21 April 2007 (age 19)	1	0	Roma Primavera
3MF	Mattia Mannini	(2006-07-08) 8 July 2006 (age 20)	1	0	Roma
3MF	Patrick Nuamah	(2005-12-31) 31 December 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Sassuolo
3MF	Fabio Rispoli	(2006-09-28) 28 September 2006 (age 19)	1	0	Como

4FW	Simone Pafundi	(2006-03-14) 14 March 2006 (age 20)	5	0	Udinese
4FW	Gabriele Alesi	(2004-01-28) 28 January 2004 (age 22)	1	0	Catanzaro
4FW	Matteo Lavelli	(2006-12-08) 8 December 2006 (age 19)	1	0	Inter U23
4FW	Alvin Okoro	(2005-03-26) 26 March 2005 (age 21)	1	0	Venezia
4FW	Emanuele Rao	(2006-03-28) 28 March 2006 (age 20)	1	0	Napoli
4FW	Dominic Vavassori	(2005-12-09) 9 December 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Atalanta U23

Recent call-ups

Following are listed players called up in the previous twelve months who are still eligible to represent the under-21 team.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Lorenzo Palmisani	(2004-06-12) 12 June 2004 (age 22)	6	0	Frosinone	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
GK	Giovanni Daffara	(2004-12-05) 5 December 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Parma	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
GK	Edoardo Motta	(2005-01-13) 13 January 2005 (age 21)	1	0	Lazio	v. North Macedonia 26 March 2026 ^INJ
GK	Tommaso Martinelli	(2006-01-06) 6 January 2006 (age 20)	0	0	Avellino	v. Armenia 14 October 2025
GK	Lapo Nava	(2004-01-22) 22 January 2004 (age 22)	0	0	Alcione Milano	v. North Macedonia 9 September 2025

DF	Niccolò Fortini	(2006-02-13) 13 February 2006 (age 20)	2	0	Fiorentina	v. Albania 8 June 2026 ^PRE
DF	Michael Kayode	(2004-07-10) 10 July 2004 (age 22)	10	0	Brentford	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
DF	Davide Bartesaghi	(2005-12-29) 29 December 2005 (age 20)	6	0	Milan	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
DF	Fabio Chiarodia	(2005-06-05) 5 June 2005 (age 21)	4	0	Borussia Mönchengladbach	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
DF	Pietro Comuzzo	(2005-02-20) 20 February 2005 (age 21)	4	0	Fiorentina	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
DF	Honest Ahanor	(2008-02-23) 23 February 2008 (age 18)	1	0	Atalanta	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
DF	Costantino Favasuli	(2004-04-26) 26 April 2004 (age 22)	1	0	Catanzaro	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
DF	Filippo Mané	(2005-03-08) 8 March 2005 (age 21)	4	0	Borussia Dortmund	v. Montenegro 18 November 2025
DF	Riyad Idrissi	(2005-06-13) 13 June 2005 (age 21)	3	0	Cagliari	v. Montenegro 18 November 2025
DF	Marco Palestra	(2005-03-03) 3 March 2005 (age 21)	8	0	Chelsea	v. Poland 14 November 2025 ^SUS
DF	Luca Marianucci	(2004-07-23) 23 July 2004 (age 21)	4	1	Napoli	v. Armenia 14 October 2025
DF	Alessandro Dellavalle	(2004-01-05) 5 January 2004 (age 22)	0	0	Torino	v. Armenia 14 October 2025

MF	Tommaso Berti	(2004-03-07) 7 March 2004 (age 22)	2	1	Cremonese	v. Albania 8 June 2026 ^PRE
MF	Leonardo Colombo	(2005-06-04) 4 June 2005 (age 21)	0	0	Monza	v. Albania 8 June 2026 ^INJ
MF	Cher Ndour	(2004-07-27) 27 July 2004 (age 21)	26	4	Fiorentina	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
MF	Matteo Dagasso	(2004-04-01) 1 April 2004 (age 22)	8	2	Venezia	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
MF	Luca Lipani (captain)	(2005-05-18) 18 May 2005 (age 21)	8	3	Sassuolo	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
MF	Giacomo Faticanti	(2004-07-31) 31 July 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Avellino	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
MF	Lorenzo Venturino	(2006-06-22) 22 June 2006 (age 20)	3	0	Genoa	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
MF	Niccolò Pisilli	(2004-09-23) 23 September 2004 (age 21)	19	5	Roma	v. Montenegro 18 November 2025
MF	Alphadjo Cissè	(2006-10-22) 22 October 2006 (age 19)	2	0	Milan	v. Montenegro 18 November 2025
MF	Lorenzo Amatucci	(2004-02-05) 5 February 2004 (age 22)	0	0	Deportivo A Coruña	v. North Macedonia 9 September 2025

FW	Luca Koleosho	(2004-09-15) 15 September 2004 (age 21)	14	4	Burnley	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
FW	Seydou Fini	(2006-06-02) 2 June 2006 (age 20)	10	4	Frosinone	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
FW	Luigi Cherubini	(2004-01-15) 15 January 2004 (age 22)	8	0	Roma	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
FW	Jeff Ekhator	(2006-11-11) 11 November 2006 (age 19)	6	2	Juventus	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
FW	Alessio Cacciamani	(2007-06-29) 29 June 2007 (age 19)	1	0	Torino	v. Sweden 31 March 2026
FW	Antonio Raimondo	(2004-03-18) 18 March 2004 (age 22)	10	4	Frosinone	v. North Macedonia 26 March 2026 ^INJ
FW	Francesco Camarda	(2008-03-10) 10 March 2008 (age 18)	4	4	Milan	v. Montenegro 18 November 2025
^INJ Withdrew due to injury ^PRE Preliminary squad

Records

Players in bold are still eligible to represent the Under-21 team. Caps and goals with the Olympic team are included.

Most appearances

The following is the top 10 most capped under-21 players:^[5]

Rank	Player	Period	Caps	Goals
1	Andrea Pirlo	1998–2002	46	16
2	Marco Motta	2005–2009	42	1
3	Francesco Bardi	2011–2015	37	0
4	Matteo Brighi	2000–2004	35	2
5	Daniele Bonera	2001–2004	34	0
6	Matteo Ferrari	1999–2002	33	3
7	Luca Marrone	2009–2013	32	1
Alessandro Rosina	2004–2007	32	4
9	Luca Caldirola	2010–2013	31	1
Marco Donadel	2004–2006	31	1

Top goalscorers

The following is the top 10 under-21 goalscorers:^[6]

Rank	Player	Period	Goals	Caps	Ratio
1	Alberto Gilardino	2000–2004	19	30	0.63
2	Andrea Pirlo	1998–2002	16	46	0.34
3	Manolo Gabbiadini	2010–2013	12	24	0.5
4	Massimo Maccarone	2000–2002	11	15	0.73
Gianluca Vialli	1983–1986	11	20	0.55
Patrick Cutrone	2017–2021	11	25	0.44
7	Cristiano Lucarelli	1996–1997	10	10	1
Robert Acquafresca	2007–2009	10	16	0.62
Christian Vieri	1992–1996	10	19	0.52
10	Gianluca Scamacca	2018–2021	9	15	0.6
Ciro Immobile	2009–2013	9	16	0.56
Andrea Belotti	2013–2015	9	18	0.5
Roberto Mancini	1982–1986	9	26	0.34
Alberto Paloschi	2008–2013	9	29	0.31

Notes

References

↑ "Categories - All 4". www.channel4.com.
↑ "Nazionale Under 21 - Squadra e staff" (in Italian). FIGC. 5 September 2025.
↑ "FIGC". www.figc.it. 7 February 2020.
↑ "Sguardo al futuro: Nunziata chiama 23 calciatori per il test dell'8 giugno con l'Albania" (in Italian). figc.it. 27 May 2026.
↑ "Classifica Presenze". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 24 September 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
↑ "Classifica Marcatori". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 5 August 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

External links

Official website, Italian language
Official website, English language
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.

[1] "Categories - All 4". www.channel4.com.

[2] "Nazionale Under 21 - Squadra e staff" (in Italian). FIGC. 5 September 2025.

[3] "FIGC". www.figc.it. 7 February 2020.

[4] "Sguardo al futuro: Nunziata chiama 23 calciatori per il test dell'8 giugno con l'Albania" (in Italian). figc.it. 27 May 2026.

[5] "Classifica Presenze". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 24 September 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

[6] "Classifica Marcatori". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). 5 August 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

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