ITALY U21s, OTHERS QUALIFY FOR TOURNAMENT

Italy u21s and eleven other teams have qualified for the 2023 UEFA u-21 European Championship in Georgiaand Romania thus leaving four places up for grabs via the playoffs. Eight teams are in the race for the remaining four slots.


Hosts Romania and Georgia qualified automatically for the tournament and they would be joined at the tournamentby the group winners from the qualifiers including the Italy u21s. The Italy u21ssecured their place at the tournament in Georgia and Romania by winning Group F of the qualifiers ahead of the Republic of Ireland and Sweden. The likes of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg and Montenegro were also in the group. Italy won the group with 24 points from ten games, while the Irish team finished second with 19 points from ten games. Sweden recorded 18 points from ten games to finish in third, while Bosnia and Herzegovina finished fourth with 11 points from ten games.Just like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro finished with 11 points from ten games but with an inferior goal difference to end the group in fifth. Luxembourg were last on the final group standings with a solitary point from ten games.

The Italians qualified for next year’s u-21 European Championship after thrashing the Republic of Ireland 4-1 at home. Ahead of the game played in Ascoli on Tuesday, the Italy u21s needed a point to seal their place in Romania and Georgia. They did more than requiredwith the big win over the Irish team whoneeded to beat their hosts to usurp them at the top of the group and qualify for the tournament.

Torino star Pietro Pellegri scored one of the goals for Italy u21s on the way to the big victory over the Republic of Ireland u21s. Pellegri is on loan at Torino from French team AS Monaco. The Republic of Ireland sealed a playoff spot via second as a result of the defeat to the Italians.

Apart from Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Germany have qualified for the tournament. The other qualified teams are Netherlands, England, France and Belgium. They are joined at the tournament by Switzerland who finished as the best second-placed team. Switzerland finished second behind the Netherlands in Group E.

Ukraine, Denmark, Croatia, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Iceland, Czech Republic and Slovakia are in the playoffs with four teams expected to qualify for the tournament after the playoffs.