Mancini has two personnel decisions to make ahead of second Italy debut
ENSCHEDE, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 15: Head coach of Italy Roberto Mancini attends before the UEFA Nations League 2022/23 semifinal match between Spain and Italy at FC Twente Stadium on June 15, 2023 in Enschede, Netherlands. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
Italy get their 2026-27 Nations League campaign underway with a visit from Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday evening, and the majority of the pre-match reports on Thursday agree that there are two personnel doubts ahead of Roberto Mancini’s second Azzurri debut.
Mancini, who was called back in for a second spell in charge of the Italy national team following the departure of Gennaro Gattuso earlier this year, has named a squad of 34 players ahead of an extra-long international break that will see Italy take on Belgium, Turkiye (twice) and France over the coming weeks.
There have already been a pair of alterations to the squad, with Federico Dimarco and Bryan Cristante dropping out through injury and Matteo Ruggeri and Samuele Ricci being called up to replace them.
It is widely expected that Mancini will go with a back four against Belgium, most likely in a 4-3-3, although there have been some suggestions that he could opt for a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-2-3-1.
The majority of Thursday’s pre-match reports agree that it will be a back four consisting of Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Roma’s Gianluca Mancini, Paris FC’s Diego Coppola and Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori, with captain Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.
Most outlets in Italy are also in agreement over Mancini’s midfield selections, that it is likely to be Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Barella in the channels, accompanied by debutant Alessandro Romano in the deep-lying role.
The two line-up doubts are in attack: Inter’s Pio Esposito is in line to start, but it remains to be seen who will join him.
The Corriere dello Sport predicts that it will be a combination of Nicolo Zaniolo and Giacomo Raspadori supporting Esposito at centre-forward.
SportMediaset agrees that Zaniolo and Raspadori are the two most-likely candidates to start on the wing and that Daniel Maldini and Antonio Vergara are likely to be brought on from the bench.
La Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, suggests that Maldini is preferred to Raspadori on the left flank and that it is a three-way toss-up between Zaniolo, Niccolo Cambiaghi and Antonio Vergara on the right, although the order of preference probably goes in that order. The Pink Paper adds that Mohamed Ali Zoma is likely to be introduced off the bench for his debut.
Calciomercato.com, has gone with a completely different attacking line-up of Cambiaghi on the right and Maldini on the left.
Let us know who you would start in attack in the comments below!
Italy’s Nations League squad for September and October
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), Daniele Ghilardi (Roma), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Eddy Kouadio (Monza), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Matteo Ruggeri (Aston Villa) Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Issa Doumbia (Sporting CP), Nicolò Fagioli (Fiorentina), Davide Frattesi (Lazio), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Samuele Ricci (Como), Alessandro Romano (Cagliari), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Forwards: Nicolò Cambiaghi (Bologna), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Sebastiano Esposito (Sassuolo), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Moise Kean (Como), Daniel Maldini (Cagliari), Giacomo Raspadori (Atalanta), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Antonio Vergara (Napoli), Nicolò Zaniolo (Udinese), Mohamed Ali Zoma (Nurnberg).
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