Rome’s Olympic Stadium will frame Roberto Mancini’s return to the Italy bench on 25 September, with the restored coach naming a 34-man group that mixes established European names with nine players receiving their first senior call-ups.
Mancini begins again with a broad Italy squad
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sandro Tonali, Riccardo Calafiori, Nicolò Barella, Francesco Pio Esposito and Moise Kean are among the leading figures in Mancini’s first selection since resuming charge of the Azzurri. The former European champion coach was appointed in July after Gennaro Gattuso stepped down in March, following Italy’s third successive failure to reach the World Cup.
Silvio Baldini had overseen the side on an interim basis before Mancini’s appointment. The 34-player list signals both continuity and a reset, retaining a core of experienced internationals while opening the door to a substantial group of newcomers.
- Mancini has kept Donnarumma, Alessandro Bastoni, Calafiori, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Federico Dimarco, Barella, Tonali, Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori in the squad.
- Nicolò Fagioli, Nicolò Zaniolo and Rolando Mandragora have returned to the international group.
- Manuel Locatelli, Federico Chiesa and Marco Palestra are unavailable because of fitness problems.
Nine new faces from across the European club map
The most striking element of the selection is the number of debutants, drawn from clubs in Italy, England, Portugal and Germany. Roma defender Daniele Ghilardi and Brentford full-back Michael Kayode are included, alongside Monza defender Eddy Kouadio.
In midfield, Sporting’s Issa Doumbia, Cagliari’s Alessandro Romano and Napoli’s Antonio Vergara have been brought in. Bologna goalkeeper Massimo Pessina, Sassuolo forward Sebastiano Esposito and Nürnberg attacker Mohamed Alí Zoma complete the group of nine first-time selections.
Four matches set the opening course
Mancini’s first spell back in the dugout begins at home to Belgium in Rome. Italy then travel to Turkey before crossing to Saint-Denis for a meeting with France, and finish the opening run against Turkey in Bologna.
- 25 September: Italy v Belgium, Stadio Olimpico, Rome.
- 28 September: Turkey v Italy.
- 2 October: France v Italy, Saint-Denis.
- 5 October: Italy v Turkey, Bologna.
Mancini returns three years after leaving the national team. During his first tenure, from 2018 to 2023, Italy won Euro 2020 and reached the Nations League finals twice, finishing third on each occasion. That period also included the failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Italy’s 34-man squad
Goalkeepers
- Marco Carnesecchi — Atalanta
- Gianluigi Donnarumma — Manchester City
- Massimo Pessina — Bologna
- Guglielmo Vicario — Juventus
Defenders
- Honest Ahanor — Crystal Palace
- Alessandro Bastoni — Inter
- Riccardo Calafiori — Arsenal
- Diego Coppola — Paris FC
- Giovanni Di Lorenzo — Napoli
- Federico Dimarco — Inter
- Daniele Ghilardi — Roma
- Michael Kayode — Brentford
- Eddy Kouadio — Monza
- Gianluca Mancini — Roma
- Giorgio Scalvini — Atalanta
Midfielders
- Nicolò Barella — Inter
- Bryan Cristante — Roma
- Issa Doumbia — Sporting
- Nicolò Fagioli — Fiorentina
- Davide Frattesi — Lazio
- Rolando Mandragora — Torino
- Alessandro Romano — Cagliari
- Sandro Tonali — Tottenham
Forwards
- Nicolò Cambiaghi — Bologna
- Sebastiano Esposito — Sassuolo
- Pio Esposito — Inter
- Samuele Inácio — Borussia Dortmund
- Moise Kean — Como
- Daniel Maldini — Cagliari
- Giacomo Raspadori — Atalanta
- Gianluca Scamacca — Atalanta
- Antonio Vergara — Napoli
- Nicolò Zaniolo — Udinese
- Mohamed Alí Zoma — Nürnberg
