There will be thirty players called up who will meet in Coverciano on Friday 31st May, by lunchtime, to begin the adventure towards the European Championship in Germany whose debut is scheduled for 15th June in Dortmund against Albania. First call, but it is not a surprise, for Riccardo Calafiori, the eclectic defender of Bologna, author of a brace against Juventus right under the eyes of coach Spalletti and second for Nicolò Fagioli a year and a half after the first and only one presence with the blue shirt in the friendly against Albania, especially at the end of the seven-month disqualification for betting.
A strong choice, considering that the young Juventus midfielder has just returned and only managed twenty-two minutes, injury time included, against Bologna. Ricci from Torino, absent since November 2022, also returns and Folorunsho is confirmed. The biggest changes are in midfield with two heavy exclusions: the surprising one of Locatelli, who Spalletti doesn’t see as a playmaker and that of Bonaventura who has dropped significantly in performance in recent months, also due to his ailments. In goal Provedel won the run-off with Carnesecchi for the role of fourth. In attack, Berardi and Zaniolo are out, injured, like the short winger Udogie, both Orsolini and El Shaarawy are in but not Politano, who won the scudetto in Naples with Spalletti.
In attack, Scamacca’s call was inevitable, center forward together with Retegui and Raspadori, who can also play behind the striker if necessary. Multi-role players have been rewarded for a national team that will work on two game systems, the 4-3-3 but above all the new 3-4-2-1 tested on the American tour in March.
The Azzurri will meet in Coverciano and before flying to Germany on 10 June, they will play two friendly matches: on 4 June in Bologna against Montella’s Turkey and on 9 June in Empoli against Bosnia. After the first friendly, Spalletti will give two days of rest and on 6 June, 24 hours before the deadline imposed by FIFA, he will cut 4 players. Twenty-six will go to the European Championship, those who will have to defend the title won by Mancini 1055 days ago.
Italy’s squad
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Inter), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Turin), Alessandro Buongiorno (Turin), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli) , Federico Dimarco (Inter), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Hellas Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Turin);
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).
2024-05-23 14:21:49
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