Roberto Mancini has pre-selected more than 70 players for his first Italy squad since returning to the national team bench and is narrowing the list down to approximately 30 names. At least seven players will earn maiden call-ups: Issa Doumbia, Alesandro Romano, Napoli's Antonio Vergara (who is also eligible for Mexico), Brentford's Michael Kayode, Sassuolo's Sebastiano Esposito, and Atalanta's Gianluca Gaetano. Bologna's Massimo Pessina and Roma's Daniele Ghilardi are on the bubble. A handful of youngsters who would not be regulars will remain with the U-21 side ahead of the Euro.
Mancini is taking a notable gamble with Mohamed Ali Zoma, who blossomed with Albinoleffe in Serie C before joining FC Nürnberg, where he has scored 19 goals and supplied 5 assists in 35 matches in the Zweite Bundesliga. Among other prospects, the coach is keen on Alphadjo Cissé, Constantino Favasuli, Niccolò Pisilli, Cher Ndour, Luca Koleosho, Antonio Raimondo, Emanuele Lulli, Mattia Liberali, and Simone Lontani, though the U-21 side would be too depleted if all were promoted to the senior team; they could be called up in case of injuries. Matteo Palma and Nicolò Tresoldi, who have represented Germany to date, have not yet made their choice regarding Italy representation, while Samuel Inacio, who has Brazilian parents and has already debuted for Italy, needs three more appearances to be locked in permanently.
Mancini will work with a 4-3-3 formation. Italy will be without Manuel Locatelli and Federico Chiesa, who are injured, while Marco Palestra, Riccardo Orsolini, and Nicolò Zaniolo are doubtful owing to recent muscular injuries.
Testo Originale / Source Text
“Roberto Mancini has pre-selected more than 70 players for his first squad since returning to the Italy bench and is whittling the list down to roughly 30 names. A few youngsters who wouldn’t be regulars will stay in the U-21 ahead of the Euro.
According to Sky, at least seven players will earn…”
Read the full article in Italian at Cult of Calcio.
