Casiraghi had named a 22-man squad on Friday but now has 21 players to use at the the prestigious competition from May 20 to 29. It will give the coach a final pooportunity to assess his players before naming the official Under-23 squad for August's Olympic Games in China.The squad gathered in Rome last night before flying out to France this afternoon ahead of Wednesday's first game.
The Azzurrini are in Group B and will kick-off their campaign against Ivory Coast, before facing Turkey on Friday and the United States of America on Sunday.
Group A contains hosts France, along with Chile, Japan and the Netherlands.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Tuesday 27 May, while the final will take place in Toulon on Thursday 29 May.
Last month, Italy were drawn in Group D for the Olympic Games with Cameroon, Honduras and South Korea. Ivory Coast, Japan, the Netherlands and the USA are the other sides, taking part in France, who will be in China this summer.
[2008 Olympics Draw]
ITALY REVISED SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Enrico Alfonso (Venezia), Davide Bassi (Empoli).
Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Frosinone), Andrea Coda (Udinese), Paolo De Ceglie (Siena), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Lazio), Hernan Dellafiore (Torino), Lino Marzoratti (Empoli), Marco Motta (Torino).
Midfielders: Luca Cigarini (Parma), Daniele Dessena (Parma), Daniele Galloppa (Siena), Tiberio Guarente (Atalanta), Claudio Marchisio (Empoli), Antonio Nocerino (Juventus).
Forwards: Ignazio Abate (Empoli), Antonio Candreva (Udinese), Sebastian Giovinco (Empoli), Davide Lanzafame (Bari), Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Fiorentina), Graziano Pelle (AZ Alkmaar).
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
All kick-off times listed below are UK time (+1hr for Italy/France/CET).
Group A Fixtures
20-05-08: Japan 1-0 Netherlands (Toulon, 1710)
20-05-08: France 3-5 Chile (Toulon, 1930)
22-05-08: France 1-2 Japan (Hyeres, 1710)
22-05-08: Netherlands 0-2 Chile (Hyeres, 1930)
24-05-08: Chile 2-0 Japan (Sollies-Pont, 1730)
24-05-08: France 0-1 Netherlands (Saint Cyr, 1730)
Group B Fixtures
21-05-08: Turkey 3-2 USA (Toulon, 1450)
21-05-08: Ivory Coast 0-2 Italy (Toulon, 1710)
23-05-08: Ivory Coast 1-0 USA (La Seyne, 1730)
23-05-08: Italy 2-1 Turkey (La Seyne, 1950)
25-05-08: Italy 2-0 USA (La Valette du Var, 1700)
25-05-08: Ivory Coast 4-0 Turkey (Aubagne, 1700)
Semi-Finals
27-05-08: Chile 2-1 Ivory Coast (Toulon, 1700)
27-05-08: Italy 0-0 Japan, 5-4 on penalties (Toulon, 1945)
Third/Fourth-placed Final
29-05-08: Ivory Coast 2-2 Japan, 4-3 on penalties (Toulon, 1700)
Final
29-05-08: Chile 0-1 Italy (Toulon, 1945)
* All matches will be shown live in the UK on British Eurosport and Eurosport 2.
Italy won the final with a second half goal by Osvaldo. Italy's standout players in the tournament were Nocerino (Juve), Giovinco (Juve), Abate (Milan) and the entire defence. Pelle is the poorest player I have ever seen in an Italy shirt. His first touch is Dirk Kuyt level, every ball played into him bounces off him.
ReplyDelete