Under-21 to face Republic of Ireland for the first time, Cecchetti: "The boys have worked well"

The third fixture in this qualifying campaign takes the Under-21 National Team to Cork for an unprecedented clash with the Republic of Ireland. Tomorrow at 20:30 CET the young Titano side will take to the pitch at Turner's Cross against a team that began its European journey at the Cork venue on Friday 8 September, snatching victory over Turkey at the death, the next opponents for San Marino. Head coach Matteo Cecchetti held the Official Training Session this evening with the twenty-one players who travelled with him. "The boys are all fine, – said the coach – they have trained intensively over these past few days, showing great focus ahead of this match. They have recovered their energy. We know we are in for a tough game, perhaps the most difficult in the group in terms of the ‘climate’. We’ll be playing in a small stadium that is expected to be full, with plenty of support for the home side, as we already saw against Turkey. We know the characteristics of our opponents. It will be a demanding match physically, so we will need to draw on all our grit and determination. I am confident. I believe the boys have understood what happened against Norway. The result does not fully reflect how the match went. From a psychological point of view, we need to learn how to handle the difficult moments, when we concede. The performance was positive and we also created chances to score. We must continue to work so that we can capitalise on what we create. This is only our third match of the campaign and our development path is still ongoing." Marco Pasolini returns to the squad having served his suspension. First call-up for Mattia Cervellini. Here is the head coach’s list:

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