The first match under Paolo Nicolato is fast approaching for the Under-21 National Team. At 18:30 CEST on Friday, the Stadio Angelo Massimino in Catania will be the venue for the friendly against Moldova ahead of the EURO 2021 qualification campaign which will begin on Tuesday against Luxembourg in Castel di Sangro.

For his first match with Under-21 National Team, Nicolato can count on a talented young player he knows very well. Last summer at the Under-20 World Cup in Poland, Andrea Pinamonti was the team’s captain and he scored four in six games as Italy made the semi-finals. The year prior, at the Under-19 European Championship in Finland, the Italy side coached by Nicolato and featuring Pinamonti made the final where they went down 4-3 to Portugal in an incredible final.

The duo are now together in the Under-21 side with the Genoa forward keens to show what he can do after he was forced to miss the European Championship on home soil. “I was sorry not to be at the Euros,” Pinamonti said at today’s press conference. “I’m starting again with great desire to make up for what I’ve missed. I come into this group with lots of humility, starting again from zero. Even if many of us have known one another for time, it’s a new group and we have to build something special and big together. Nicolato is one of the best coaches around, not just in terms of football but his personal qualities also. The Coach has helped me a lot with my development.”

Previously called up in April for a training camp by Roberto Mancini, Pinamonti wants to stay on the radar of the Coach and show him what he can do with his goals. He scored in the opening league match of the season against Roma with a powerful left-foot strike that showed off his abilities as a true penalty box striker. “I want to improve my goal tally (5 last year with Frosinone) and to consistently play at a side like Genoa could be useful in helping he get up to speed and do well with Italy. There are a number of similarities with the brands of football promoted by Andreazzoli and Nicolato. “Both want to go after the other teams and win the ball in their halves to help score goals. To play the same kind of football with club and country will help me.” 

From Kean to Scamma, Sottil to Tumminello, the Under-21 side can count on a number of quality forwards. “It’s true but in general, we have the best players of a generation in every role. We’re an excellent side. Now we have to integrate and quickly because you don’t have much time to work in international football. We need to make the most of our training sessions in order to become a tight-knit and united side so that we can go and win something.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Trapani), Mattia Del Favero (Piacenza), Alessandro Plizzari (Livorno);
Defenders: Claud Adjapong (Verona), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Bordeaux), Enrico Del Prato (Livorno), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Riccardo Marchizza (Spezia), Luca Ranieri (Fiorentina), Marco Sala (Virtus Entella), Alessandro Tripaldelli (Sassuolo);
Midfielders: Marco Carraro (Perugia), Davide Frattesi (Empoli), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Giulio Maggiore (Spezia), Niccolò Zanellato (Crotone), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma);
Forwards: Moise Kean (Everton), Andrea Pinamonti (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Ascoli), Riccardo Sottil (Fiorentina), Marco Tumminello (Pescara).

Staff – Head Coach: Paolo Nicolato; Head of Delegation: Massimo Paganin; Accompanying Director Vincenzo Marinelli; National Youth Teams Coordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Assistant Coach: Mirco Gasparetto; Secretary: Manfredi Martino; Fitness Coach: Vincenzo Pincolini; Goalkeeper Coach: Gianmatteo Mareggini; Match Analyst: Francesco Bordin; Doctors: Angelo De Carli and Vincenzo Santoriello; Physiologist: Cristian Osgnach; Physiotherapists: Emiliano Bozzetti and Nicola Sanna.

The schedule for the Under-21 National Team:

Wednesday 4 September
10:00 - Training at the Torre del Grifo Training Centre (closed)
13:15 - Press conference (with one player) at the Torre del Grifo Training Centre
17:00 - Training at the Torre del Grifo Training Centre (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

Thursday 5 September
10:00 - Training at the Torre del Grifo Training Centre (closed)
13.30 - Press conference (with the Coach) at the Torre del Grifo Training Centre

Friday 6 September
10:30 - Training (closed)
18:30 – ITALY vs. MOLDOVA at the "Angelo Massimino" Stadium in Catania. press conference after the game

Saturday 7 September
09:00 - Flight Catania-Rome Fiumicino and transfer to the Sport Village Hotel & Spa -Castel di Sangro AQ
13:15 - Press conference (with two players) at the Sport Village Hotel & Spa
17:00 - Training at "Teofilo Patini" (open to the press)

Sunday 8 September
10:00 - Training at "Teofilo Patini" (closed)
17:00 - Training at "Teofilo Patini" (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

Monday 9 September
16:45 - Press conference (with the Coach) at the "Teofilo Patini" Stadium in Castel di Sangro
17:30 - Training at the stadium (open for the first 15 minutes)

Tuesday 10 September
18:30 – ITALY vs. LUXEMBOURG at the "Teofilo Patini" Stadium in Castel di Sangro. Followed by a press conference after the match and the conclusion of the national meet. N.B. All times in CEST.

The times of trainings and press conferences may be subject to change.