Roberto Mancini selects three uncapped players in 30-man Italy squad
Italy supervisor Roberto Mancini has chosen three uncapped players in his 30-man squad for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers towards England and Malta.
Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone, Torino defender Alessandro Buongiorno and Tigre striker Mateo Retegui are all in competition to make their senior worldwide debuts for the Azzurri.
Falcone and Buongiorno had been each chosen to hyperlink up with Mancini’s first-team squad for a coaching camp on the finish of final yr, after the four-time World Cup winners did not qualify for the match in Qatar.
The duo at the moment are in line to obtain their first Azzurri cap together with Retegui, who Mancini has been maintaining tabs on for a while.
The 23-year-old striker – who was born in Argentina however is eligible to signify Italy by household descent – has excelled in South America with Tigre, scoring 29 targets in 50 appearances, together with six strikes in seven video games in 2023.
.
“We have been following Retegui for some time, he is been enjoying commonly in the Argentine league for 2 seasons. He has qualities that we at the moment lack,” Mancini informed reporters.
Elsewhere in Mancini’s squad, Inter Milan full-back Matteo Darmian has acquired his first Italy call-up since March 2018, whereas Lazio defender Alessio Romagnoli has returned for the primary time since November 2020.
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho, West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca and Leeds United ahead Wilfried Gnonto are the one three Premier League players chosen in the 30-man squad.
Lazio striker Ciro Motionless lately picked up a hamstring damage and won’t be concerned throughout this month’s worldwide break, whereas Napoli‘s Giacomo Raspadori has been overlooked having struggled for sport time with the Serie A leaders this time period.
The Azzurri start their defence of their European Championship crown once they welcome England to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on March 23, earlier than travelling to the Ta’ Qali Nationwide Stadium to face Malta three days later.
ITALY SQUAD IN FULL:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Wladimiro Falcone (Lecce), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio)
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Inter Milan), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Alessio Romagnoli (Lazio), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta BC), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta BC)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Monza), Sandro Tonali (AC Milan), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)
Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds United), Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg), Simone Pafundi (Udinese), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Tigre), Gianluca Scamacca (West Ham United)
