Less than a year ago he received his first call-up to the Under-21 National Team, although was forced to withdraw due to injury. A few months after that he was selected by Head Coach Roberto Mancini for the game against the United States, although he wasn’t involved. Finally, Brescia’s Sandro Tonali wore the Italy shirt for the first time on 21 March 2019, making his Under-21s debut during a friendly against Austria in Trieste.

He’s now part of the Azzurrini squad that’s edging toward the European Championship, currently training with his teammates at Formello: “We’re all united. Personally, I’m very confident. We can do anything at this European Championship, it’s all down to our mental fortitude and how we take to the field. When you for Italy it means that the whole country is watching you. It’s the dream of every child and it was also mine when I was a child. Our strength is that we all know each other and we’re extremely united.”

Meanwhile, Tonali is also keeping close on eye on how the Under-20s are currently performing at the World Cup in Poland: “I know the squad really well and they’re strong. They never give up, and under Coach Nicolato they can’t lose. I want to praise Pinamonti, it takes courage to attempt a chip at a World Cup.”

As a child, he was inspired by Gattuso’s “strength and intensity”, while he’s now also thinking about his future: “I’m discussing it with my family, it’s a decision that must be shared. My aim has always been to play in Italy, however, I can’t tell the future. I see myself playing for a club in our country.”

As for the squad itself, Cremonese’s Gaetano Castrovilli today left the Formello training camp due to failing to fully recover from a previous injury. Di Biagio will confirm his full 23-man squad tomorrow for the European Championship, while the squad will then meet up once again on Monday 10 June.

Located in Group A, Italy will kick off on Sunday 16 June at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna before facing Poland (Wednesday 19 June, 21:00 CEST in Bologna) and finally Belgium (Saturday 22 June at 21:00 CEST in Reggio Emilia).

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Emil Audero (Sampdoria), Alex Meret (Napoli), Lorenzo Montipò (Benevento);

Defenders: Claud Adjapong (Sassuolo), Alessandro Bastoni (Parma), Kevin Bonifazi (Spal), Arturo Calabresi (Bologna), Davide Calabria (Milan), Fabio De Paoli (Chievo Verona), Federico Dimarco (Parma), Sebastiano Luperto (Napoli), Giuseppe Pezzella (Genoa), Filippo Romagna (Cagliari);

Midfielders: Francesco Cassata (Frosinone), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Rolando Mandragora (Udinese), Alessandro Murgia (Spal), Sandro Tonali (Brescia), Luca Valzania (Frosinone);

Forwards: Federico Bonazzoli (Padova), Patrick Cutrone (Milan), Ferdinando Del Sole (Pescara), Gabriele Moncini (Cittadella), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Riccardo Sottil (Pescara).

 

Staff – Delegation Head: Massimo Ambrosini; Team Manager: Vincenzo Marinelli; National Teams Co-ordinator: Maurizio Viscidi; Head Coach: Luigi Di Biagio; Secretary: Mauro Vladovich; Assistant Coaches: Massimo Mutarelli, Carmine Nunziata; Fitness Coach: Vito Azzone; Goalkeeper Coach: Antonio Chimenti; Match analyst: Filippo Lorenzon; Doctors: Angelo De Carli and Luca Gatteschi; Nutritionist: Cristian Petri; Physiotherapists: Enzo Paolini, Alfonso Casano, Emiliano Bozzetti. National teams department: Manfredi Martino.

 Schedule

Thursday 6 June

(Squad of 23 to be confirmed by 24:00)

10:30 Training/ Friendly (open to accredited media)

Friday 7 June

16:00 Press conference with the Coach

17:00 Training (first 15 minutes open to the press)

Saturday 8 June

10:30 Training (closed)

13:00 Lunch

Training camp to end and players return home