Academy, three Nerazzurri called up by Italy for the Mediterranean Games

Three Nerazzurri have been called up by Italy Men’s Youth National Teams Coordinator Maurizio Viscidi ahead of the XX Mediterranean Games: Francesco Olivieri, Diego Perillo and Mattia Sonzogni. The 18-player Azzurri squad is made up predominantly of players born in 2009, with the exception of three 2010-born players, including Olivieri. Puglia will host the tournament from 22 to 30 August, featuring eight national teams, five from UEFA (Albania, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Türkiye) and three from CAF (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), divided into two groups of four.

The Azzurrini, drawn in Group B, will make their debut on Saturday 22 August (21:00 CEST) at the Via del Mare “Ettore Giardiniero” stadium in Lecce against Albania, before taking on Algeria on Monday 24 August (21:00 CEST) at the “Franco Fanuzzi” stadium in Brindisi and Kosovo on Wednesday 26 August (21:00 CEST) at the “Erasmo Iacovone” stadium in Taranto.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, which will take place entirely in Taranto: the semi-finals will be played on Friday 28 August (10:30 and 21:00 CEST), while the third-place play-off (10:00 CEST) and the final for the title (19:00 CEST) will be played on Sunday 30 August.