| Nickname(s) | Azzurrini | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio |
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| Head coach | Luigi Di Biagio | ||
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| FIFA U-20 World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 5 (First in 1977) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-final, 1987, 2005, 2009 | ||
Italy national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.
The team competes in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years.
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The U20 team is the de facto under-19 of the previous year, and it acts mainly as a feeder team for the U21s and provides further international development for youth players. The team qualified for its only official match, FIFA U-20 World Cup, depends on U19 result. The U19 team finished runners-up of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, thereby qualifying for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Any player may receive an U20 call-up regardless of whether they have played for the under-19 team. As the team mainly participate in friendly tournaments, overage players may also be selected.
The team participated in an annual Four Nations Tournament with Germany, Switzerland and Poland (in the past Austria or Netherlands), which was the main fixture of the U20 team.
The team also have an annual fixture with the Serie D Best XI after the end of the season, from 2007 to 2010 (except 2009, which the U-20 team was incorrectly called "U-19 team" and coached by U-19 coach Massimo Piscedda[1][2]).[3][4][5] The 2006 edition was played by Italy under-19 team, the de facto U20 team, which the U19 team already eliminated from the official competition and the team filled with overage player who non-eligible for 2007 Euro.[6] The 2011 edition was played by Italy Universiade team.[7]
Squad called up for the Four Nations Tournament match against Poland on 12 October 2011.[8]
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