Under 21, Italy friendly with Serbia and Ukraine: Nicolato in emergency

The Under 21 European Championship is approaching, in June in Romania and Georgia, and Italy is also preparing. The Azzurrini face Serbia on Friday in Backa Topola, north of Belgrade, and on Monday in Reggio Calabria Ukraine, qualified for the continental tournament. Once again, it’s a team in an experimental phase, because the group is in constant construction, between call-ups for the senior national team, injuries, involutions.

FORFAITS

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Absent Rovella, Cittadini, Pellegri, Cambiaghi, after the call-up Miretti forfeited and then Carnesecchi, joined by Mancini, was “expelled”, and also Cambiaso and Coppola due to injury, one of the five on the first call-up. In their place Zanoli (Sampdoria), Carboni (Venice) and Sorrentino (Monza) were called to complete the group. “These two matches should have been part of the preparation cycle – says coach Nicolato – and we would have liked to prepare them better, instead we had many problems. As in the September and November internships, we weren’t able to put what we wanted into the team, this time too we would have liked to try a team that would project us to the European Championship. We remain optimistic, we will make the team at the last minute, like at the 2019 Under-20 World Cup where we then reached the semifinals. Maybe some new opportunity arises from these difficulties. We have to make these matches useful in terms of evaluating the players, if they can compete to get into the 23. So I ask the boys this: let us see if they can get into it. In the two games everyone will play, against Serbia for the younger players, against Ukraine for a more experienced team. We have a very young group, and for the future it’s a positive aspect, if instead I think about the closest commitment we would have liked to “age” the team a bit because age has its weight. However, they are all interesting guys, let’s hope that someone surprises us ”.

NEW ENTRY

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The curiosity concerns above all the attacking midfielders – Baldanzi, Fabbian, the “Argentine” Zapelli – a role that has never had interpreters in the two-year period. “We must try to call the best, the most ready, those who can give us something extra – explains Nicolato – without thinking about the game system. We have to identify the 23 for the European Championship, on the basis of which we will decide strategies and systems. In June we will have to have the ability to be a team in a short time. The friendlies made, with England and Germany, have shown us that the level is much higher than the qualifiers, above all the pace is much higher, and we too have to raise it, as players and as a proposal”.