Casiraghi excited ahead of Wembley match

Pierluigi Casiraghi and Gianfranco Zola are excited as the Italian Under-21 squad prepares to open the new Wembley Stadium.

"There will be 60,000 spectators, so it’s going to be the biggest crowd the Under-21 side has ever played for," said coach Casiraghi ahead of Saturday’s friendly against their English counterparts.

"It will be very exciting, especially for the lads, and I’m sure this kind of atmosphere will really motivate them to do well."

Casiraghi is not new to London, as he played for Chelsea and was present when Italy beat England at the old Wembley in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers. His assistant, Zola - another former Chelsea player, scored the only goal.

"This match has more to it than merely an exhibition, as it will be an opportunity for me to evaluate individual members of my team," continued the tactician.

"It will also give me the chance to get a close look at England, who will be our opponents in the group phase of the European Championships in June. Our objective is to be protagonists in that tournament."

Zola is confident that one man will stand out for the Azzurrini this weekend, especially after bagging a hat-trick for Juventus in the 5-1 victory over Triestina.

"Technically, Raffaele Palladino is incredibly strong. It’s easy to predict a great future ahead of him. By the way he moves he reminds me of Marco Van Basten, but he is also able to go deep and adapt to different attacking roles."

Palladino is expected to start upfront against England, although Cesena forward Graziano Pelle is also hoping for an appearance.

"I read up all the statistics on the new Wembley and it will be very exciting to play in front of 60,000 people with the Azzurri jersey," said the striker. "When they told me the number of tickets that had been sold for an international Under-21 friendly, I got goosebumps."