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On Sunday, the Under-19 men’s national football team won the European Championships by beating Portugal in the final. It had been twenty years since an Italian Under-19 selection hadn’t won a European Championship, even if in recent years they had often come close: in 2016 and 2018 they were beaten in the final, last year they stopped in the semifinals. Often reaching the bottom of tournaments without being able to win them is something that all our youth national teams have had in common recently, and this summer it seemed it would continue like this. At the beginning of June, the Under-20 national team lost the World Cup final in Argentina against Uruguay, after reaching the semifinals in both 2019 and 2017.
For the Under 21 national team, the European Championships in Romania were rather disappointing. Despite the presence of quality and already quite experienced players such as Sandro Tonali, Wilfried Gnonto, Destiny Udogie and Giorgio Scalvini, they didn’t even go beyond the group stage. The Europeans in this category have been disappointing for several years now. The last victory dates back to 2004 and given that the results obtained at the European Championships qualify for the Olympics, Italy has not played one since 2008.
After the victory of the Under 19 team and the final played by the Under 20 team, however, the next few years for the Under 21 team — and also for the senior national team, which needs it — could be particularly interesting, given the presence of several players who stood out this summer and who we will hear about again, always bearing in mind that the leap from youth football to professionalism is never a foregone conclusion.
Giacomo Faticanti
He is one of the four who played in both the Under 20 World Cup and the Under 19 European Championships. He has been talked about for some time, especially in Roman circles: he grew up in Frosinone, plays as a halfback or defensive midfielder, was captain of the youth team for a long time from Roma and made his first-team debut under José Mourinho in 2022. He is particularly good at recovering the ball and restarting play from his own half. In the national team he was used to protect the defense after a heavy group defeat against Portugal, and Italy’s tournament changed from there.
Francis Pio Esposito
He is the other of the four (besides Niccolò Pisilli and Luca Lipani) to have played in both the Under 20 World Cup and the Under 19 European Championships. He has been talked about because he has two brothers, all players, all of whom grew up in the Inter youth academy: Sebastiano has just finished a season on loan at Bari while Salvatore plays for Spezia. And in Spezia, in Serie B, Francesco Pio could also end up, who scored 15 goals in the last season as center forward for Inter Primavera.
Sebastiano Desplanches
He was voted best goalkeeper of the Under 20 World Cup and some of his instinctive saves have been filmed a lot online. He is twenty years old, he grew up first in the Inter youth team and then in Milan. In 2022 he was bought by Vicenza, who loaned him to Trento in Serie C last season and who in recent days sold him to Palermo, who are rebuilding in Serie B under the new and ambitious ownership of the City Football Group .
Cesare Casadei
Cesare Casadei has also passed through the Inter youth team, sold to Chelsea a year ago for over 10 million euros even before making his professional debut in Italy. He is probably the young Italian on whom there are more expectations. He plays as an attacking midfielder but at times he looks more like a centre-forward, a role Italy badly needs. At the Under 20 World Cup in Argentina he was both top scorer (7 goals scored) and best player, a recognition that is highly regarded in this category, given those who have won it in the past: Paul Pogba, Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi, Robert Prosinecki and Diego Armando Maradona, to name a few.
Dear Ndour
Cher Ndour, the Under 19 midfielder, was also bought by a big European team, Benfica, well before making his professional debut. In 2020 the Portuguese club bought him from Atalanta, while he had previously played in Brescia, where he was born in 2004 to an Italian mother and Senegalese father. This year he made his league debut with Benfica, a team known for how he works with young players, and a few days ago he was bought by Paris Saint-Germain, who are known for the quality they look for in their players. Ndour, in addition to being technically above average and physically ready, is a so-called midfielder box-to-boxthat is, good at accompanying the team’s transitions from defense to attack.
Thomas Baldanzi
Baldanzi is an attacking midfielder, played in the Under-20 World Cup and was one of the key players for the national team, as he was for Empoli last season in 26 league games, many of which as a starter, scoring several crucial goals , like the one against Inter at the San Siro. He is a very technical player, always at ease in handling the ball and very quick in his movements. For some time there has been talk of his interest in Juventus and Milan.
Simone Pafundi
The other protagonist with the Under 20 was Simone Pafundi, already called up to the senior national team by Roberto Mancini and esteemed by many more experienced players, such as Marco Verratti, who defined him as the best young player recently included in the national team. Until now he has played as an attacking midfielder or winger, but last season Udinese only let him appear on the pitch for a few minutes, and in just nine games. Of his Under 20 World Cup we remember above all the decisive free-kick scored at the end in the semi-final against South Korea.
Michael Kayode
He is the Nigerian-born right-back who decided the final of the Under-19 European Championship with the only goal of the match. He is 19 years old, grew up in the Juventus youth team but is now from Fiorentina, with whom he has yet to make his debut, even if he has already been called up to the first team. At the European Championships he was struck by how he was able to balance offensive and defensive duties.
Luis Hasa
In the Under-19 team, Luis Hasa stood out in particular for his technical quality and ability from set pieces or from distance: he crossed for Kayode’s decisive goal in the final, scored in the group stage against Poland and provided other three decisive assists. He was therefore one of the most influential players. He plays for Juventus Primavera and was born in Sora, in Lazio, of Albanian parents. After the European Championship he could be added to the first team.
Samuel Vignatus
He is the younger brother of Emanuel, who made his Serie A debut at the age of 16 and has been owned by Bologna since 2020. The two are from Verona and have Brazilian origins. Like Emanuel, Samuele also grew up in Chievo Verona and in 2021, after the bankruptcy of the Veneto club, he was signed by Monza, then in Serie B. Like his brother, he can play as an attacking midfielder, second striker or winger. At the Under 19 European Championships he was the fulcrum of all offensive actions, alternating decisive passes with goals.
– Read also: I was a young promise
2023-07-18 08:58:31
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