Italy Under 21 returns to Mazza for European Championships qualifier

More than four years after the last time, the National Azzurri Under 21 team returns to the turf of the "Paolo Mazza" and does so to challenge Turkey Under 21 in the match valid for the qualification for the next European Championships of the category.

Thus, the collaboration between the Emilia-Romagna Region and the FIGC is further consolidated by virtue of the quality of the sports infrastructures present in the territory and the possibility of realizing, through the Azzurri teams, tourism enhancement projects but also recreational-sports activities of a formative and educational nature with schools and soccer schools.

In recent years, among other things, there have been several national team competitions hosted in the region: in Reggio Emilia Italy-Lithuania (2022 World Cup qualifiers), in Bologna and Cesena the two Nations League matches Italy-Germany and Italy-Hungary (June 2022), in Ferrara and Parma two matches of the Women's National Team in 2023 (Italy-Morocco in July and Italy-Switzerland in the Nations League last December), and several youth matches, most recently that of the Under 20 World Vice-Champions in Sassuolo in November 2023 (Italy-Portugal).

Among other things, Emilia-Romagna has also hosted in recent years the traveling exhibition "Azzurra: the great history of the National Team," organized in collaboration with the Coverciano Fondazione Museo del Calcio, which has allowed some extraordinary memorabilia from the Azzurri's 114-year history to be displayed in the territory.

The Azzurrini, leading Group A with 11 points ahead of Ireland and Norway, will inaugurate this partnership with the two challenges in the qualification path to the European Championship in 2025. Friday, March 22 against Latvia at the 'Dino Manuzzi' stadium in Cesena, Tuesday 26 with Turkey at 'Paolo Mazza' in Ferrara.

This will be the Azzurrini's ninth match in the city of Castello Estense: in the previous eight, no less than seven successes (the latest a 3-0 win over Iceland in November 2019 signed by Sottil's goal and Cutrone's double) and only one defeat, in November 2018 in a friendly against England (Kean and Solanke's double).