Luigi Di Biagio’s side will begin their European Championship campaign on Thursday against Sweden, with the Azzurrini needing a good start after being drawn in the Group of Death.
Two years ago the Azzurrini kicked off their qualifying campaign in Group 9, with Belgium, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Serbia drawn in the same group.
Having finished runners-up at the 2013 European Championships after losing 4-2 to Spain in the Final, expectations were high and qualification from the group was expected.
Defeat to Belgium at home in the opening game was followed up with three successive victories against Cyprus and Belgium away and a 3-0 win at home to Northern Ireland.
Italy U21’s then ended 2013 with defeat away to Serbia which meant that Di Biagio’s squad had fallen four points behind Belgium, with three games remaining, for the top spot qualifying the team for the play-offs.
In 2014, the Azzurrini won three games in a row to take top spot, qualifying for the play-off’s with a 3-2 victory over Serbia, the highlight of the group stage. 2-0 down after 13 minutes and facing the prospect of missing out on the European Championships, Di Biagio’s side responded in 10 minutes, pulling a goal back through Andrea Belotti. In stoppage time, Belotti scored his second of the game to make it 2-2 going into half-time. With 15 minutes to go, it was Domenico Berardi who scored the winner for the Azzurrini to send Italy top of the table with one game left.
The Azzurrini qualified for the play-offs with a 7-1 victory over Cyprus where they would go on to face Slovakia. A 4-2 aggregate victory clinched qualification where they were drawn into Group B alongside England, Portugal and Sweden.
Let’s take a look at the teams the Azzurrini will face over the next week in the European Championships:
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