The FIFA U-20 World Cup group stage draws have been completed, allowing Carmine Nunziata’s Italy to discover their opponents for the tournament in Argentina.
The Azzurri’s under-20 side have not been particularly successful in their history, with their best placing being a third-place finish at the tournament in South Korea in 2017. Their last U-20 World Cup outing came in 2019, where they achieved a fourth-place finish.
In today’s FIFA U-20 World Cup group stage draw, Italy found themselves drawn into Group D, where they’ll face Brazil, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic.
This is one of the hardest groups at the tournament, with both Brazil and Nigeria historically looking strong at U-20 level.
The FIFA U-20 World Cup kicks off on May 20 and ends on June 11 in Argentina, being moved from the previous hosts Indonesia due to their protests at the participation of Israel.
The Italy U-20 squad features a number of interesting prospects, including Roma’s Cristian Volpato, Heracles Almelo’s Antonio Satriano and Benfica’s Cher Ndour.
Azzurri head coach Roberto Mancini will keep an eye on the U-20 squad’s performance at the tournament, looking for any players who could carve out a spot for themselves in the senior team.
FIFA U-20 World Cup groups
Group A: Argentina, Uzbekistan, Guatemala, New Zealand.
Group B: United States, Ecuador, Fiji, Slovakia.
Group C: Senegal, Japan, Israel, Colombia.
Group D: Italy, Brazil, Nigeria, Dominican Republic.
Group E: Uruguay, Iraq, England, Tunisia.
Group F: France, South Korea, Gambia, Honduras.