Italy vs Norway facts

Ten years after concluding their UEFA European Under-21 Championship group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw, Italy and Norway meet again on Matchday 3, this time in Group D at the Cluj Arena in Cluj-Napoca.

The Azzurrini revived their challenge on Matchday 2 with a thrilling defeat of Switzerland and have three points, three behind a France side they had lost to 2-1 in their opening fixture. First-half goals from Lorenzo Pirola (6), Wilfried Gnonto (11) and Fabiano Parisi (45+4) proved enough in their second game despite Switzerland scoring twice after the interval.

Norway are bottom of Group D having lost 2-1 to Switzerland and 1-0 to France.

Italy will go through if they avoid defeat and Switzerland do not win against France on Matchday 3. Italy will go through regardless if they win unless Switzerland beat France by a one-goal margin other than 1-0 or 2-1. Italy will go through if they lose by a one-goal margin other than 1-0 and Switzerland also lose. Italy will finish top if they win and Switzerland win 1-0 or 2-1.

Norway will go through if they win by a margin of at least two goals and Switzerland lose.

Previous meetings

The teams shared a 1-1 friendly draw in Perugia on 22 March 2018, Henrik Rørvik Bjørdal giving the visitors a 60th-minute lead and substitute Luca Vido levelling for Italy five minutes later.

That made it three games without defeat against Italy for Norway (W1 D2), who have managed two victories in the countries' seven U21 matches (D2 L3).

This is the sides' first competitive fixture since Matchday 3 of the 2013 finals, when there was late drama at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv. Stefan Strandberg's 90th-minute penalty gave Norway the lead but another replacement, Italy's Andrea Bertolacci, levelled four minutes later to make the final score 1-1.

That draw took Italy through as Group A winners on seven points, two more than runners-up Norway who also progressed. The Norwegians were beaten 3-0 by Spain in the semi-finals, where Italy edged past the Netherlands 1-0 before losing the final 4-2 to Spain.

The teams' other four European U21 Championship fixtures have all come in qualifying, each resulting in a home win. First-half goals from Alberto Aquilani (19) and Giampaolo Pazzini (38) earned Italy a 2-0 victory in Trapani in September 2004, Norway's Bjørn Helge Riise (78) scoring the only goal of the return fixture in Drammen the following June, but it was Italy who progressed to the play-offs for the 2006 final tournament having finished ten points clear in Group 5 on 25 points, 11 more than eliminated Norway in third.

Italy reached the 1992 quarter-finals with a 2-1 win at home to Norway in their final qualifier, Alessandro Melli (24, 33) scoring both home goals in Avellino to secure first place in Group 3, with Italy going on to claim the first of their five U21 titles.

The Azzurrini had been beaten 6-0 in Stavanger by Norway on 5 June 1991 – still their heaviest competitive defeat.

Raoul Bellanova and Sandro Tonali were in the Italy side that drew 1-1 against Norway in the group stage of the 2018 U19 EURO. Erik Botheim was in the Norway team, whose goal was scored by Erling Haaland; Moise Kean was on target for Italy.

Form guide

Italy

The joint most successful side in European U21 Championship history with five titles, a record they share with Spain, Italy are in the final tournament for the 14th time. They have qualified for all but one of the 13 editions since 2000, missing out only in 2011.

The Azzurrini are the only side to win three successive titles, between 1992 and 1996, and lifted the trophy five times in seven editions between 1992 and 2004 – although they have reached only one final since, losing to Spain in 2013.

In 2021 Paolo Nicolato's side finished second behind Spain in Group B, winning one of their three games and drawing the other two, before going down 5-3 after extra time to Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Italy qualified unbeaten for the 2023 tournament, winning seven of their ten matches to finish five points clear of runners-up the Republic of Ireland in Group F.

Nicolò Rovella was Italy's top scorer in qualifying with three goals.

Italy have won their last four Matchday 3 encounters at the U21 finals and are undefeated in the last seven (W6 D1), since going down 1-0 to the Netherlands in 2006.

Norway

This is Norway's third appearance in the final tournament and a first since 2013 when, as on their 1998 debut, they reached the semi-finals. Both campaigns ended in defeat by Spain, 1-0 after extra time in 1998 and 3-0 ten years ago, when Norway had finished as unbeaten runners-up behind Italy in Group A.

Steffen Iversen scored both goals as Norway defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in the third-place play-off in 1998.

Norway were third in their 2021 qualifying section, 17 points behind both the Netherlands and Portugal.

This time round, Leif Gunnar Smerud's team won eight of their ten qualifiers to finish top of Group A on 24 points, two above Croatia.

Jørgen Strand Larsen, who is not in the final tournament squad, was Norway's top scorer in qualifying with six goals.

Norway have lost their last three finals matches and are without a win in four (D1).

Links and trivia

Have played in Italy:
Emil Ceïde (Sassuolo 2022–)
Erik Botheim (Salernitana 2022–)

Have played together:
Lorenzo Pirola & Erik Botheim (Salernitana 2022–)

Botheim scored twice in Bodø/Glimt's 6-1 home win against Roma in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage on 21 October 2021; he also got the Norwegian side's second goal in a 2-2 draw in Rome on 4 November 2021.