Ahead of Italy and Germany’s friendly at the end of March, Italy under 21 head coach Di Biagio has deemed the 2009 winners to copy the full national team's achievement and win the finals in the Czech Republic branding them “favourites for Euro 2015”.
The two sides will face each other just two years after their last friendly in Andria, a game that Devis Mangia’s men won through a goal from Fabio Borini:
“A match against Germany is never a friendly,” said Head Coach Luigi Di Biagio. “It will be a tough test and I expect a positive reaction from my squad. Germany are probably the strongest team amongst the eight that will participate in the European Championships, they have great individual players and have improved a lot during the last few years.”
Italy will host Serbia on 31st March, the team that gave the the Italian U21's two hard matches during the qualifiers. “They will also fight for the title in the Czech Republic,” added Di Biagio. “I prefer to face strong opponents and see what my men are capable of.”
The Final Stage of the European Championships is only five months away and many players still have a chance of getting called-up. “Our doors will remain open until the very end,” assured Di Biagio.
“Especially for those who have already been part of the group. I am monitoring 28/30 players and their physical condition and my idea of how we will play will be decisive when making a choice. In the next few months, we will carry on working as we have done so far and my assistants and I will keep monitoring everybody very closely.”
Di Biagio spent his career in Italy making 482 appearances scoring sixty-two goal over a nineteen year career, at Italian giants such as Lazio, Roma and Inter Milan.