Italy national under-20 football team

Italy Under-20

Nickname	Gli Azzurrini
Association	Italian Football Federation (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio – FIGC)
Head coach	Carmine Nunziata
Captain	Mattia Mannini
First colours Second colours
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances	9 (first in 1977 )
Best result	Runners-up (2023)
Under 20 Elite League
Appearances	6 (first in 2017–18 )
Best result	Winner (2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24)

Italy national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.

The team competes for the Under 20 Elite League, held annually and, if qualified, for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, held every two years.

History

The Under-20 team is de facto based on the previous year's Under-19 team and acts mainly as a support team for the Under-21 selection, providing further international experience for young selectable players.

The team competes for its only official tournament, the FIFA U-20 World Cup, depending on the U19s results at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship held in the even-numbered years, that qualifies European teams for the U-20 World Cup.

The best result obtained by the Italian team in the U-20 World Cup is the second place achieved in the 2023 edition held in Argentina, losing the final 1–0 against Uruguay. They finished also third in 2017 and fourth in 2019. Italy managed to qualify for the first time for three consecutive U-20 World Cups after qualifying for the 2021 edition, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[1]

Each season the team mainly participates in friendly tournaments, in which overage players may also be selected. The U20 team participated until 2017 in the annual Four Nations Tournament with Germany, Switzerland and Poland (which replaced Austria). Since the 2017–18 season, the Italy U20 team participates in the annual Under 20 Elite League, expanded to 8 participants.

The team also had an annual fixture with the Serie D Best XI after the end of the season. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

FIFA U-20 World Cup

Main article: FIFA Under-20 World Cup

Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1977	Group stage	3	0	2	1	1	3
1979	Did not qualify
1981	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	6
1983	Did not qualify
1985
1987	Quarter-finals	4	2	1	1	5	3
1989	Did not qualify
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005	Quarter-finals	5	2	1*	2	10	8
2007	Did not qualify
2009	Quarter-finals	5	2	1	2	9	9
2011	Did not qualify
2013
2015
2017	Third place	7	3	2*	2	10	9
2019	Fourth place	7	4	1	2	8	5
2021	Cancelled
2023	Runners-up	7	5	0	2	13	8
2025	Round of 16	4	1	1	2	3	6
2027	TBD
Total	9/24	45	19	9	17	60	57

*Draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty shootouts.

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Portugal and Germany on 14 and 17 November 2025, respectively. ^[6]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
	1 GK	Tommaso Martinelli	(2006-01-06) 6 January 2006 (age 19)	Fiorentina
	1 GK	Lapo Siviero	(2006-11-23) 23 November 2006 (age 18)	Torino
	2 DF	Mike Aidoo	(2005-05-30) 30 May 2005 (age 20)	Pergolettese
	2 DF	Cristian Cama	(2007-06-05) 5 June 2007 (age 18)	Roma
	2 DF	Mattia Mannini (captain)	(2006-07-08) 8 July 2006 (age 19)	Juve Stabia
	2 DF	Filippo Pagnucco	(2006-02-09) 9 February 2006 (age 19)	Juventus Next Gen
	2 DF	Filippo Reale	(2006-02-24) 24 February 2006 (age 19)	Juve Stabia
	2 DF	Lorenzo Romani	(2005-02-28) 28 February 2005 (age 20)	Lecco
	2 DF	Jacopo Sardo	(2005-03-08) 8 March 2005 (age 20)	Monza
	2 DF	Giacomo Stabile	(2005-04-12) 12 April 2005 (age 20)	Juve Stabia
	2 DF	Francesco Stante	(2005-01-19) 19 January 2005 (age 20)	Inter Milan U23
	3 MF	Thomas Berenbruch	(2005-05-31) 31 May 2005 (age 20)	Inter Milan U23
	3 MF	Alessandro Berretta	(2006-07-01) 1 July 2006 (age 19)	Giana Erminio
	3 MF	Leonardo Colombo	(2005-06-04) 4 June 2005 (age 20)	Monza
	3 MF	Lorenzo Riccio	(2006-07-25) 25 July 2006 (age 19)	Atalanta U23
	3 MF	Fabio Rispoli	(2006-09-28) 28 September 2006 (age 19)	Catanzaro
	4 FW	Pietro Candelari	(2005-01-21) 21 January 2005 (age 20)	Spezia
	4 FW	Serigne Deme	(2005-02-04) 4 February 2005 (age 20)	Juventus Next Gen
	4 FW	Giacomo De Pieri	(2006-12-29) 29 December 2006 (age 18)	Juve Stabia
	4 FW	Patrick Nuamah	(2005-12-31) 31 December 2005 (age 19)	Catanzaro
	4 FW	Matteo Lavelli	(2006-12-08) 8 December 2006 (age 18)	Inter Milan U23
	4 FW	Marco Romano	(2006-03-01) 1 March 2006 (age 19)	Genoa
	4 FW	Matteo Spinaccè	(2006-07-13) 13 July 2006 (age 19)	Inter Milan U23

See also

• Italy national under-21 football team
• Italy national under-19 football team
• FIFA U-20 World Cup

References

1. "Update on FIFA Women's World Cup and men's youth competitions". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
2. "L'Italia Under 20 batte la Top 11 di D". Corriere dello Sport – Stadio (in Italian). 11 June 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
3. "Orvieto, Top 11 a testa alta contro l'Italia Under 20". Corriere dello Sport-Stadio (in Italian). 4 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
4. "Top 11: sport e solidarietà". Serie D News (in Italian). 3 June 2008. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
5. "La Top 11 Serie D Corriere dello Sport supera per 1 - 0 l'Under 20". Serie D News (in Italian). 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
6. "Gli Azzurrini ripartono dal doppio test contro Portogallo e Germania: i 23 convocati di Nunziata" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.

References

• Official website, Italian language
• Official website, English language

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Italy's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Argentina	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Australia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Brazil	4	2	0	2	4	5	−1	050.00
Canada	2	1	1	0	6	3	+3	050.00
Chile	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Colombia	2	1	0	1	3	3	+0	050.00
Cuba	1	0	1	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Dominican Republic	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
Ecuador	2	1	0	1	1	1	+0	050.00
Egypt	1	0	0	1	2	4	−2	000.00
England	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1	050.00
France	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Hungary	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Iran	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Ivory Coast	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Japan	2	0	2	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Mali	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	100.00
Mexico	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Morocco	1	0	1	0	2	2	+0	000.00
Nigeria	2	1	0	1	2	2	+0	050.00
Paraguay	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Poland	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Romania	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
South Africa	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
South Korea	2	1	0	1	3	5	−2	050.00
Spain	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Syria	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Ukraine	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
United States	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1	050.00
Uruguay	3	0	1	2	0	2	−2	000.00
Zambia	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
Total	45	19	9	17	60	57	+3	042.22