Sunday’s win over Spain was a fantastic result for the Under-21 National Team, as they redeemed themselves after semi-final defeat two years ago. Lorenzo Pellegrini was a key figure during the Azzurrini’s 3-1 win, scoring from the spot late on after Chiesa’s brace.

“I never had any doubts regarding the penalty,” said the player. “I was certain that the referee would whistle.”

Prior to joining the Azzurrini squad, he was also recently part of the National Team set-up for their Euro qualifiers against Greece and Bosnia Herzegovina: “It was something that I wanted to do. It was a given that I would come here to play with the team. I always said to the Coach that I’d be delighted to be here. This group is fantastic and we’re really enjoying ourselves. Chiesa is a great lad, he was a leader out on the pitch yesterday, with an attitude of a true warrior. I was full of praise for him and today we were laughing and joking together.”

Sunday’s win over Spain will certainly boost morale within the team, yet Pellegrini is sure that they’ll be determined as ever: “Yesterday was a great experience, beating a top side, however, we must now follow this up with another victory.”

Their next test will be against Poland on Wednesday: “It’s the most important match because a victory would take us through to the semi-finals,” Pellegrini continued. “Yesterday’s result has given us a bit of added awareness because we didn’t have much time to all train together and in these type of matches you never know what can happen. We’ve made a great step forward, but it’s useless if we don’t keep winning. The Bologna crowd were fantastic, I didn’t expect it. They really got behind us, supporting us from start to finish. I’m convinced that this will also be the case on Wednesday, we’ll need their support.”

Schedule for the European Championship

Tuesday 18 June 2019

15:30 UEFA press conference at the Stadio Dall’Ara

17:30 Training at Casteldebole (first 15 minutes open to the press)

Wednesday 19 June 2019

21:00 ITALY – POLAND at the Stadio Dall’Ara in Bologna

Thursday 20 June 2019

16:30 Meeting with the press (player)

17:30 Training at Casteldebole (first 15 minutes open to the press)

Friday 21 June 2019

10:45 Training at Casteldebole (first 15 minutes open to the press)

18:00 Transfer to the Stadio Città del Tricolore

19:15 Walk around at the Stadio Città del Tricolore before then heading to the Hotel Boiardo

19:30 UEFA press conference at the Stadio Città del Tricolore

Saturday 22 June 2019

21:00 BELGIUM – ITALY at the Stadio Città del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia

Saturday 23 June 2019

Players depart from the squad should they be eliminated.

Olympic Play-Off

28 June 21:00 in Cesena

European Championship final 30 June 2019

20:45 Stadio Friuli in Udine