Italy will play against England in the Round of 16 at the Under-20 World Cup at the Estadio Ciudad de la Plata in Argentina on Wednesday night, having finished second behind Brazil in the competition’s group stage.
The two sides, with a few alterations, faced each other in the semi-final of the U-19 European Championships in 2022, during which England ran out 2-1 winners on their way to lifting the trophy in the final the following game.
Italy will be hoping to overturn that result when the two sides face each other again on Wednesday, playing for a place in the quarter-final where the victors will be rewarded with a comparatively easier tie against either Colombia or Slovakia.
Carmine Nunziata’s side will have to do without Mantova centre-back Daniele Ghilardi against England, which is not an insignificant detail according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Still, Nunziata is still pleased with the work his team have put in and said that the tournament so far has been: “Very positive.”
He continued: “We had a very tough group. But beyond the results, I’m satisfied with what we’ve done on the pitch. We played well against Brazil for 70 minutes and that was no coincidence.
“When you play every three days, recovering isn’t easy, the problem will still still crop up if we qualify for the next round. We have always aimed to be a team, to achieve goals with good football and not be reliant on the talent of individuals.
“I just think that a World Cup for a youngster is something special, one of those moments that you carry with you for life. Not everybody gets that opportunity, but I don’t want to take anything away from those who are here.”
Nunziata also admitted that his side have been unfortunate in being on the receiving end of a tough draw, both in the groups and in the knock-out rounds, but believes his side are capable of beating anybody as long as they approach the game in the right way.
“We’ve not been lucky in the draw, that’s for sure,” he said. “Getting England in the first knock-out round isn’t the best. We will try to make up for last year, we know what they are capable of but what I tell the boys is to remember what we can do. Because, if Italy gives everything and plays in the way they know how, they face every opponent on a level playing field.”