France U21 vs Italy U21 Prediction: Who will be stronger?

The European Youth Championships will close out the first round of the group stage with France clashing with Italy at the Cluj stadium. Who will be stronger in a battle of such worthy opponents? It is worth noting that, over the last ten years, the Italians and French have played out most of their games against each other in a draw.

France has qualified for their third consecutive European Championship under Sylvain Ripoll, who has been in charge of the youth team since 2017. The previous two championships ended in the semi-finals and quarter-finals for the French. It is difficult to say whether the French can do better this time. Although if we judge this game purely by the names on the roster, the answer will be no. France's squad for UEFA Euro 2023 is not even half the potential that the UEFA Euro 2021 squad had on paper, with Tchouameni, Kamavinga, Kunda, Ikon, Kolo Muani, and many others already key players for today's leading European clubs.

As for France's performance in the current cycle, the team won the group in qualification by just three points over Ukraine. The French have only picked up two wins in their six friendlies since qualifying. Although they beat Germany 1:0, they have only suffered one defeat, albeit a dramatic 0:4 loss to England.

The Italians share with Spain the title of the most successful continental U21 team - just like the Spaniards, the team has five league titles. Italy won three in a row in the mid-1990s, two more in 2000 and 2004. Since then, they have hardly missed out on a UEFA European Championship, but only once have they reached the finals - a 2:4 defeat to Spain in the 2013 finals in Israel.

The Italians can hardly be seen as a real contender in the upcoming championship. Under Paolo Nicolato, Romania has a strong squad. As can be seen, the youngster has the same basic problem as the main team when Ciro Immobile is injured.

The Italians have improved their attacking performance in friendlies before the European Championships, but you should certainly not overestimate the friendlies. In their official competition, UEFA Euro 2023 qualification, Italy has scored just 19 goals in 10 games, fewer than Sweden - who are not even in the knock-out phase. The most prolific Italian player was Nicola Rovella, with only three goals.

Italy's lack of consistent scoring forwards did not prevent them from winning the qualifying group, but they will be far more competitive in the European Championship final. France has conceded only five goals in 10 qualifying games and is organized enough to neutralize the Italian attacking pressure. However, Italy has only conceded five times in UEFA Euro qualifying, playing strong opponents with three center-backs. In general, we're betting on another low-scoring encounter between the opponents.