UEFA’s Executive Committee have confirmed the group stage fixture dates for the Nations League, with the matches to be played on 3/4/5 and 6/7/8 September, 10/11 and 13/14 October and on 14/15 and 17/18 November 2020. The October and November fixture slots will however be made up out of three games instead of two, making space for the European Championship play-offs postponed to the start of each block of fixtures on 8 October and 12 November. As a result, Italy will play two friendlies on 7/8 October and 11/12 November.

Placed into Group 1 of League A with the Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland, the Azzurri will begin their tournament campaign on 4 September as they host Bosnia and Herzegovina, then facing the “Oranje” away on 7 September. League A has been expanded from 12 to 16 nations for the second edition of the tournament, with these sides divided into four groups of four teams, the winners of each group then qualifying for the Final Four.

In the first edition of the Nations League, won by Portugal after a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final, Italy finished their group in second place, behind Portugal and ahead of Poland. But the Azzurri will certainly be in high spirits after an incredible run in qualifying for the European Championship, Roberto Mancini's side winning all ten of their games for the first time in history.

Tomorrow, UEFA’s Executive Committee will formalise the procedures in drawing the qualifying groups for the 2022 World Cup, with the first qualifiers set for March 2021.

League A’s groups in the UEFA Nations League:

Group 1: Netherlands, ITALY, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland
Group 2: England, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland
Group 3: Portugal, France, Sweden, Croatia
Group 4: Switzerland, Spain, Ukraine, Germany

Italy's fixture list:

4 September 2020: Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (20:45)
7 September 2020: Netherlands vs. Italy (20:45)
7 or 8 October 2020: Friendly
10 or 11 October 2020: Poland vs. Italy (20:45)
13 or 14 October 2020: Italy vs. Netherlands (20:45)
11 or 12 November 2020: Friendly
14 or 15 November 2020: Italy vs. Poland (20:45)
17 or 18 November 2020: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Italy (20:45)

N.B. The final fixture list will be released soon on www.uefa.com.