Greece angered by Italy proposal to field U21 side in June friendly – Cancellation risk?
Greece angered by Italy proposal to field U21 side in June friendly – Cancellation risk? Tuesday’s reports claim that the Greek football federation have been left frustrated by the suggestion that Italy will field a side primarily made up of U21 stars for their scheduled friendly in June, and some outlets suggest that there is a risk the game does not go ahead as a result. Is there a risk that Greece vs.
Italy friendly gets cancelled? The Italy national team will not be heading to the 2026 World Cup, but still have two friendlies in the calendar for early June: Against Luxembourg on the 3rd of the month and against Greece on the 6th, both of which are set to be played away from home. Italy is without a permanent head coach following the resignation of Gennaro Gattuso shortly after the World Cup play-off final defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of March, so U21s boss Silvio Baldini has been tasked with leading the senior squad into the June friendlies.
Baldini is expected to name a side largely, or perhaps entirely, made up from players he already knows from his U21 team. There have been reports that captain Gianluigi Donnarumma has made himself available , but Baldini has insisted that he “will only call up players from the U21s. ” Though this suggestion went down positively with a large section of Azzurri supporters, the situation has reportedly angered the Greek federation, who want to give their players a competitive test against opponents of a certain level and experience in order to prepare them for the Nations League campaign that kicks off in September.
CREMONA, ITALY – OCTOBER 14: Italy U21 players pose before the UEFA Euro U21 Qualification match between Italy and Armenia at Stadio Giovanni Zini on October 14, 2025 in Cremona, Italy. (Photo by Marco M. Mantovani/Getty Images) According to reports from TMW , representatives from the Greek and Italian federations have been in contact since last week in order to ‘find a solution’.
Tuesday’s report claims that there is a risk the match does not go ahead. The parties will need to come to a resolution swiftly, though, as the game is scheduled to take place in just over a fortnight’s time, and the chances of arranging a friendly against different opponents are already diminishing. Greece have already confirmed their squad, and TMW points out that in their official announcement, there was no mention of a game against Italy, just that they would be taking part in ‘June friendlies’.