A dream called the World Cup vanished before their eyes right at the final moment. Italy's Under 20 team chased, fought and gave everything to win the World Cup in Argentina, but in the final act of the tournament, against Uruguay, their dream came to an end.

A defeat in the final is never a failure, but rather must always be a starting point for the following year. Carmine Nunziata's team is a group full of talented guys, with many boys with bright futures and the right mind-set, the key that drives an entire group of players to sacrifice for each other, going beyond their limits.

It's not just sacrifice, though, because Italy's young players are strong, perhaps one of the strongest and most technically gifted U20s in recent years.

Baldanzi, Casadei, Pafundi, Faticanti, Zanotti, Ambrosino, the list is long and there is so much talent for the future of the Italian national team. The end came in the final, following a negative performance, with Uruguay appearing superior in every moment of the match, not only from a tactical point of view, but also and above all emotionally.

It had been a long and complicated path: the victories in the group stage against Brazil (3-2), Dominican Republic (0-3) and the defeat against Nigeria (0-2), the victory against England (1-2) in the round of 16, the 3-1 win against Colombia in the quarterfinals, the 2-1 victory against South Korea: this was the path of the "Azzurrini" to reach the final. Who were the protagonists of this journey? Let's take a look together:

TOMMASO BALDANZI (EMPOLI)

Baldanzi is certainly the player, among all those present at the World Cup, who has shown that he can play a leading role in the future of Italian football . He scored four goals in Serie A this season, and it is no coincidence that we also talked about him in one of our "Race for the Scudetto" articles. Many Italian teams are interested in him, all of them eager to secure the chance to have a top talent who apparently has everything to become a leading player in Italian football in the coming years.

He is an old-fashioned trequartista, good at linking midfield and attack, capable of scoring goals and also aware of the importance of tactical knowledge. Intelligent, humble and technically gifted: Baldanzi has everything to become a big name. Napoli is the team most interested in him.

CESARE CASADEI (CHELSEA)

Casadei is certainly the most famous name of the whole group: Chelsea bought him last year for the incredible fee of 15 million euros, a huge fee if we consider the total number of appearances with Inter up to that time: zero.

With the Italy shirt, he proved Chelsea right: he is still young and has to grow, but he is a strong player, who has the ability to be always in the right place in the right time in the opponent's area - which his best quality. Physically strong, 185 cm tall, he is certainly growing faster than his teammates playing in England.

Several Serie A teams have their eyes on him, willing to give him space in the league, but at the moment Chelsea seems intent on keeping him in London and letting him grow there, alongside their top senior players. Even Juventus seems to have interest in him: in the coming weeks we will see what will happen, but at the moment he is for all intents and purposes Italy U20's top player. Casadei was named MVP of the tournament, thanks to the seven (seven!) goals scored. Outstanding.

SIMONE PAFUNDI (UDINESE)

Among all the famous names in Nunziata's squad, one in particular stands out, that of Pafundi, who was called up by Roberto Mancini for Italy even before his league debut. The coach of the Italian national team seems to be sure of Pafundi's talent and has done with him what he did in the past for Nicolò Zaniolo (now in Turkey, after tainting his history with Roma with some questionable behavior).

Pafundi was born in 2006, he is small in stature but rich in talent, and plays for Udinese, with whom he has made 8 appearances this season. Among peers he always seems to be on another level, with goals and especially assists as his best qualities. It was precisely one of his goals that took Italy to the final: a real piece of magic, an incredible free kick in the 86th minute, perfectly struck and sent under the crossbar.

His name has already landed on the radar of big European clubs, including that of Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton, which could mould him and make him a star player in the Premier League.

GIACOMO FIACANTI (ROMA)

Another important Italy U20 player is definitely Giacomo Faticanti, captain of Roma Primavera, numbered 16 in honour of his idol Daniele De Rossi, the Roma legend and former Giallorossi captain.

Faticanti is an old-fashioned regista, a player who is very much like De Rossi in terms of characteristics, starring with Roma Primavera and one of the leaders of the Azzurrini group. In October 2022, Jose Mourinho also gave him his debut with the Roma jersey, the team he has been cheering for since he was just a child. Several clubs are interested in him, especially in Serie B right now: the head and talent are there, and the hope of Italians and Roma fans is that he may get a chance to show all his potential.

GIUSEPPE AMBROSINO, RICCARDO TURICCHIA AND GABRIELE GUARINO

Three other talents to watch carefully are Giuseppe Ambrosino, Riccardo Turicchia and Gabriele Guarino. At the moment they are names to follow, talents whose steps and decisions should not be ignored at all because they have the potential to become stars in the future.

Ambrosino is a striker, the centre forward of the national team, he is a Napoli player and last year played with the Cittadella jersey: 19 games, 2 goals and 2 assists, for a total of 730 minutes on the field. Next year probably awaits him another season on loan in Serie B, it is no mystery after all that young strikers may need some more time to blossom, but Ambrosino has the right physique and head to make it.

Riccardo Turicchia is one of the pillars of the Juventus Next Gen, or B team. Born in 2003, he is 20 years old, a 180 cm tall left-back who has not found space among the adults due to the explosion of Samuel Iling Jr., a clearly above-average player among his peers, perhaps ready to be promoted among the seniors.

There are several A teams on him and it is a situation to follow, also from a Juventus perspective, given the probable project aimed at rejuvenating the squad.

Gabriele Guarino is not a well-known name, but he is a pure talent and has been close to making his debut several times this season, with his coach Paolo Zanetti on various occasions close to sending him out in the Empoli shirt. He is a central defender, born in 2004, well-placed physically, serious and professional, with good skills in anticipating opponents and in one-on-one challenges with opposing attackers.

In general, Nunziata had and has on his hands a group full of talented lads, with interesting prospects that bode well for the future, but one must never forget a basic fact: talent alone is never enough. So many youngsters who pass through the youth national teams or even make their debut among the professionals then fail to progress and are lost right before the most important moment, that of affirmation.

Essential would be more support from Italian football institutions and beyond, including and especially that the top teams in the league give space to these youngsters, without sending them around the minor leagues for years and years. Now it is up to these guys and those who work in Serie A and B to give space, chances and continuity to these talented youngsters, so that the final lost to Uruguay will not be the end of the road, but the beginning.