Why Italy have left Inacio out of all three matchday squads this international break
DORTMUND, GERMANY - AUGUST 22: Samuele Inácio of Borussia Dortmund in action during the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München at Signal Iduna Park on August 22, 2026 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
There was a lot of excitement when 18-year-old Samuele Inacio was called up to the Italy national team squad for the Nations League fixtures against Belgium, Turkey and France in September and October, but Roberto Mancini has now been forced to explain why he has left the Borussia Dortmund teenager out of three consecutive matchday squads.
Mancini explains why Inacio has not featured for Italy this international break
Inacio broke into the Borussia Dortmund side at the age of 17 earlier this year, and has since been called up to the last Italy two Italy national team squads.
He earned his first cap in a friendly against Luxembourg in June while Italy were under the interim reign of Silvio Baldini, who had named a squad made up almost entirely of players from his U21 squad.
The teenage talent was then included in the 34-man squad named by Mancini for his first camp back in charge of the Azzurri ahead of the September-October international break.
Despite his inclusion in the 34-man squad, Inacio was left out of the matchday squad for Italy’s 2-0 defeat against Belgium last Friday and for Monday’s 4-1 win away against Turkey. He has also been left at Coverciano along with eight other players for Friday’s match away against France at the Stade de France.
This has drawn concern from some supporters, as Inacio’s only cap to date came in a friendly, which means that he is still eligible to represent Brazil at senior international level through his father, Pia, who was on Napoli’s books at the time his son was born.
That said, there is also still another competitive Nations League match to go after the France match, at home against Turkey on Monday evening. There is still a possibility that Inacio is capped then, if not in one of the future international breaks.
Mancini was asked why the 18-year-old has not yet featured this international break during his pre-match press conference on Thursday evening, and explained that his age is a factor and pointed to the fact that he has not yet become a regular starter at club level.
“He’s a young player who still needs to develop,” said Mancini.
“He’s 18. It takes time. He has to start training with us and build experience. Even if he’s at Borussia Dortmund, he hasn’t played much. We know his quality; he’ll surely be an important player for the national team, but he’s very young, so we need to give him time and let him understand what he can do.”
Click here to read more from Mancini’s pre-match press conference.
Italy squad to take on France
Goalkeepers: 1. Gianluigi Donnarumma, 12. Marco Carnesecchi, 13. Guglielmo Vicario.
Defenders: 2. Michael Kayode, 3. Matteo Ruggeri, 5. Riccardo Calafiori, 6. Alessandro Bastoni, 19. Giorgio Scalvini, 22. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, 23. Gianluca Mancini.
Midfielders: 4. Samuele Ricci, 8. Sandro Tonali, 10. Nicolo Fagioli, 15. Issa Doumbia, 16. Davide Frattesi, 18. Nicolo Barella.
Forwards: 7. Francesco Pio Esposito, 9. Moise Kean, 11. Gianluca Scamacca, 14. Mohamed Ali Zoma, 17. Daniel Maldini, 20. Sebastiano Esposito, 21. Antonio Vergara.
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