Italy will return to Coverciano by midnight on Sunday 8 November, beginning a compact final week in their Nations League group under Roberto Mancini. After an enlarged squad was used across the opening four matches, the coach is expected to work with a reduced selection for the decisive fixtures against France and Belgium.
The Azzurri will report to the national training centre in Florence immediately after the next Serie A break. They are due to spend three days there before moving to Milan on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 November.
A week that decides the group
Italy host Zinedine Zidane’s France at San Siro on Thursday 12 November, with kick-off scheduled for 20:45. The Italian Football Federation and Mancini have chosen Inter’s Appiano Gentile training complex as the base for the Milan leg of the camp.
The squad will remain at La Pinetina for sessions on Friday 13 and Saturday 14. Following the final preparation on Saturday, the team will fly by charter to Brussels.
The group campaign concludes on Sunday 15 November, when Italy face Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium, the ground previously known as the Heysel Stadium. The two final games will be played only 72 hours apart, restoring the more traditional tempo of an international window.
Mancini set to trim his selection
Mancini called up 34 players for the first four Nations League matches, but the November group is likely to contain around 28 or 29 players, including four goalkeepers.
Several players were not involved on the pitch at the Dall’Ara, where Ghilardi, Mandragora, Ricci, Coppola, Zoma, Kouadio and Pessina watched from the stands. Moise Kean had already returned to Como on Sunday evening after being ruled out by his recurring shin problem.
The November camp therefore arrives as the next significant turn in Italy’s season: a shorter squad, a return to the familiar rhythm of national-team football, and two matches that will settle the Azzurri’s place in the Nations League group.
