Under-21 National Team: restarting against the Republic of Ireland

Spring ushers in the beginning of the second half of the European campaign for the Under-21 National Team. The young Biancoazzurri have already faced every opponent in the group and the restart, four months on from their last outing, comes in the form of a clash with the Republic of Ireland. It will be their second consecutive fixture at the San Marino Stadium after November’s mid-month meeting with Italy. But it’s not only the Boys in Green on Matteo Cecchetti’s agenda: since last Monday he has been working with his players to prepare for Norway as well, who will host next Tuesday’s match. Twenty-one players took part in this evening’s Official Training Session ahead of the game against one of the leading sides in Group A. “They are coming off a minor disappointment, because until the 94th minute of their last match they were top of the group, then Gnonto’s equaliser dropped them into second place, though they are still just a single point behind Italy – recalls Matteo Cecchetti – They are a less technical side than Norway and Italy, but they play a very English brand of football, built on great physicality and constant vertical play. On top of that they have a forward like Armstrong who showed us in the reverse fixture what he can do. It will be a tough game, no doubt about that. However, I’m encouraged by our performance in the first meeting, when we showed tremendous focus and application over the full 90 minutes. We’ll need to reproduce that level, while looking to raise the bar even further.” There are plenty of new faces among Cecchetti’s call-ups. However, these do not include Nicolò Sancisi, a member of the very large group of players involved with the San Marino Academy Under-22 side. “It is always a great emotion to play for the National Team – says the 2003-born midfielder – especially in front of our own supporters. As in every European fixture, we will try to give our all and deliver an excellent performance to make both ourselves and everyone who comes to the stadium to support us proud. We are ready and fired up for these two matches, starting with Ireland, who in the reverse fixture showed us all their qualities, especially their physical strength. It won’t be easy to contain them, but we will try. And we will not give up on trying to score, either. It will be difficult, but we will not throw in the towel.” “The work with the Under-22s is beginning to bear fruit – explains head coach Cecchetti – Many of the players called up are part of that project, and this gives us the advantage of starting from already consolidated foundations, tactically and beyond. The boys coming from other clubs have also settled in very well. We have been training intensively since Monday. I have seen great focus from the lads. Now we are back to facing a double-header after some time without this kind of schedule. But I would say this is the ideal moment to do it: the boys are ready, they are playing regularly for their clubs and are at the heart of their seasons. Unfortunately, we do have a few absentees due to injury. But the younger players we have promoted to the Under-21s have brought freshness and the joy of being here. I am fortunate to be coaching a really good group, eager to work hard and to grow.” San Marino v Republic of Ireland will be played tomorrow at 18:00 at the San Marino Stadium. The live broadcast, geolocated for San Marino and Italy, will be available on Titani.TV. First-ever Under-21 call-ups for Borasco, Ciacci, Giacomo Benvenuti, Valli Casadei, Chiaruzzi, Casadei and Giacopetti. Here is the full list of the twenty-one players selected by Matteo Cecchetti, which will become twenty tomorrow:

PLAYER	POSITION	DATE OF BIRTH	CLUB
BATTISTINI MATTEO	Goalkeeper	12/07/2004	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
BORASCO FABIO	Goalkeeper	18/09/2005	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
CIACCI FEDERICO	Defender	03/04/2005	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
GIAMBALVO ALESSANDRO	Defender	23/04/2003	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
SANCISI MATTIA	Defender	13/04/2003	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
MATTEONI GIACOMO	Defender	11/04/2002	U.S. PIETRACUTA A.S.D.
ZAVOLI DIEGO	Defender	15/05/2004	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
GIOCONDI SIMONE	Defender	28/04/2002	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
BENVENUTI GIACOMO	Defender	03/02/2006	A.S.D. VICTOR SAN MARINO
BENVENUTI TOMMASO	Defender	03/02/2006	A.S.D. VICTOR SAN MARINO
TERENZI LUCA	Defender	10/05/2004	S.C. FAETANO
DOLCINI ANDREA	Midfielder	14/04/2003	F.C. FIORENTINO
VALLI CASADEI MATTEO	Midfielder	01/06/2005	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
SANCISI NICOLO'	Midfielder	13/04/2003	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
PASOLINI FILIPPO	Midfielder	22/02/2003	A.C. JUVENES -DOGANA
ZANNONI SAMUELE	Midfielder	29/04/2002	A.C.D.TORCONCA-CATTOLICA
CHIARUZZI NICOLO'	Midfielder	28/10/2005	F.C. FIORENTINO
CASADEI MARCO	Midfielder	24/07/2006	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
D'ADDARIO NICOLA	Forward	21/12/2003	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
FAMIGLIETTI TOMMASO	Forward	05/08/2005	SAN MARINO ACADEMY
GIACOPETTI NICOLAS	Forward	05/06/2006	SAN MARINO ACADEMY

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