Today, the FIGC published the dates for the elite phase of the European U19 Championships. The second stage of qualification, which had been due to be played between 25 and 31 March, was postponed by UEFA due to the corona crisis. Padua will still serve as the centre of the Group 5 fixtures, with games to be played around the Veneto involving Italy, Iceland, Slovenia and Norway. The Azzurrini will begin with a game against Slovenia on Wednesday 2 September at the Stadio Monteortone in Albano Terme, followed by Iceland on Saturday 5 September at the Stadio Comunale in Mogliano Veneto, before the third and final match against Norway at the Stadio Euganeo in Padua.

The city of Padua is not new to the competition, hosting the elite phase back in 2016, when the Azzurrini qualified for the finals of the EUROs, where they finished runners-up to France.

The Italy U19s, who have been coached by Alberto Bollini since last summer, made it through to this stage of qualifying after breezing through the last round of qualification, which was played in Emilia Romagna last November. The Azzurrini won three out of their three games, beating Malta (2-0), Cyprus (2-0) and Slovakia (3-0). They last played in a friendly back in February, which ended as a goalless draw with Switzerland

Italy’s task is to end the round as outright winners of the group, as only the first-place team will reach the finals. The competition will be played in Northern Ireland and will be divided into two stages. The group stages will feature two groups and will be played between 7 and 14 October. The first and second-place team will then qualify for the knockout stages, which will be played between 11 and 14 November. The two third-place teams from the group stages will also feature in a playoff to decide which of them will be the fifth European side at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which will take place in 2021 in Indonesia.

Calendar of games Group 5 (2-8 September)

Wednesday 2 September

Italy vs. Slovenia (Stadio di Monteortone, Abano Terme)

Iceland vs. Norway (Stadio Comunale di Caldiero)

Saturday 5 September

Italy vs. Iceland (Stadio Comunale di Mogliano Veneto)

Norway vs. Slovenia (Stadio Comunale di Caldiero)  

Tuesday 8 September

Italy vs. Norway (Stadio Euganeo, Padua)

Slovenia vs. Iceland (Stadio di Monteortone, Abano Terme)