Pio Esposito wants to play for Italy U21 at 2027 European Championships, says Baldini

Pio Esposito wants to play for Italy U21 at 2027 European Championships, says Baldini Silvio Baldini says that Inter striker Francesco Pio Esposito wants to play for the Italy U21 side at the upcoming European Championships next summer, as long as he is not too busy with the senior squad in June: ‘We hope they’ll leave him with us’. Baldini: Esposito ‘told me’ he wants to play for Italy U21s at the Euros Baldini and Italy have recently qualified for the U21 European Championship coming up in the summer of 2027 thanks to a thumping 6-2 victory against Poland in their final qualifying match, overtaking their opponents into first place in their group and sealing a guaranteed spot at the final tournament in the process. CESENA, ITALY – OCTOBER 10: Silvio Baldini head coach of Italy U21 during the UEFA Under21 EURO Qualifier betweenItaly U21 v Sweden U21 and ad hoc Arena im Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld on October 10, 2025 in Cesena, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) Baldini has high hopes for the Azzurrini at the EUROs, claiming in a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport that he wants to win the title and an Olympic gold medal the following summer and that both of these achievements are “definitely feasible.” Baldini was also asked by the Pink Paper whether he intends on taking any eligible members of the senior Italy squad to the EUROs at the end of the season. Anybody born in 2004 or after will be allowed to feature, so that includes the likes of Esposito, Michael Kayode, Marco Palestra and Alessandro Romano. Baldini says that he wants to continue working with the group that qualified for the EUROs, but says that Esposito ‘gave his availability’ over the summer. BOLOGNA – OCTOBER 05: Pio Esposito of Italy celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Türkiye at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on October 05, 2026 in Bologna. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) “I’ll keep the ones that I have, my boys,” Baldini told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “The only one who has given me his availability is Pio Esposito if he’s not too busy with the senior national team. When we left off in June, he told me he wanted to play in the European Championship because he’d also missed it two years earlier. We hope that there are no hitches and that they’ll leave him with us.” Click here to read the full interview with Baldini.