Italy’s meeting with Turkey in Bursa offers Roberto Mancini more than a chance to rotate after the draw in France. The side expected to start is markedly different, and it also traces a familiar path in modern Italian football: young players who found the decisive stage of their development beyond the domestic game.
Michael Kayode, Matteo Ruggeri, Issa Doumbia and Alessandro Romano are expected to begin. Riccardo Calafiori, Diego Coppola and Samuele Inacio are set to be among the substitutes, forming a group whose club routes tell very different stories of academy work, opportunity and departures.
Quick facts
- Kayode, Ruggeri, Doumbia and Romano are expected in Italy’s starting line-up against Turkey.
- Kayode came through Juventus’ youth system, rebuilt his career via Gozzano and Fiorentina, and is now established at Brentford.
- Ruggeri has moved from Atalanta to Atletico Madrid and then Aston Villa after recording 47 appearances and seven assists under Diego Simeone last season.
- Sporting paid €23 million plus €3 million in bonuses for Doumbia after his key role in Venezia’s promotion campaign.
- Roma’s agreement with Cagliari includes an obligation to buy Romano for €6.5 million.
Kayode is the clearest example of a player whose road was not straightforward. Juventus did not retain faith in the right-back, and he restarted in Serie D with Gozzano at the age of 16 before Fiorentina took him on. He made 49 senior appearances for the Viola, then moved to Brentford, where he won a regular place and has kept it.
His Italy debut came in Bursa, against Turkey, and he scored immediately. For Mancini, that first international goal adds weight to a selection that is less about novelty than the evidence of players becoming established abroad.
Ruggeri’s case is different. Atalanta developed the left-sided player at Zingonia, promoted him to the first team and gave him the platform to make his name in Serie A. The club nevertheless accepted Atletico Madrid’s offer when it arrived.
Under Simeone, Ruggeri played 47 times last season and supplied seven assists. Aston Villa have since signed him, another step in a career that began inside the Atalanta structure rather than away from it.
Doumbia left Italian football at the point his reputation was rising fastest. The midfielder had been important in Venezia’s promotion to Serie A, following his development at AlbinoLeffe, where he played alongside Koma, another member of Mancini’s Italy group who went abroad to establish himself at Nuremberg.
At Venezia, Doumbia posted 10 goals and six assists in the promotion season. Milan were interested, but Sporting moved first with a package worth €23 million plus €3 million in add-ons. At 22, he is a first-choice player in Portugal and has already appeared in the Champions League.
Romano, born in Switzerland, opted for Italy rather than the Swiss national team. Roma identified him early, handed him a Serie A debut and sent him on loan to Spezia in January last season.
He is now at Cagliari, who are obliged to complete his purchase for €6.5 million. Romano quickly found minutes in Sardinia and has scored, while the scale of his potential value has become clear to those around him.
Former academy ties
Calafiori spent 12 years in Roma’s youth ranks but did not receive sustained first-team opportunity. He joined Basel in 2022, moving beyond Roma’s control before Bologna brought him back to Italy and his rise eventually led to Arsenal.
Coppola came through at Verona and earned a starting role while still very young. Brighton invested in him during the summer of 2025, giving him a five-year contract, and he is now playing regularly at Paris FC.
Inacio’s route has carried the greatest dispute. Born in Bergamo and formed by Atalanta, he joined Borussia Dortmund in 2024, a transfer that triggered a severe disagreement between the clubs.
Atalanta chief executive Luca Percassi publicly criticised Borussia in February, and the matter reached FIFA. Inacio, meanwhile, has continued his progress and scored his first professional goal.
The Turkey match therefore frames a broader Italian question. Some of these players were formed patiently at home; others left because the route to senior football was blocked or uncertain. Mancini’s squad brings them together only after their careers have been shaped in Florence, Bergamo, London, Madrid, Lisbon, Sardinia and beyond.
