Italy has missed three World Cups in a row. Mancini begins again Friday with nine uncapped players.
Italy, four-time World Cup winners and absent from the last three finals, begin Roberto Mancini's second spell in charge at home to Belgium in Rome on Friday, with nine uncapped players in a 34-man squad.
Roberto Mancini has named 34 players for Italy's four Nations League games in eleven days, and nine of them have never played for the national team. 1 Italy open at home to Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday 25 September (8.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT). 2
How it happened
Italy's road to this year's World Cup ended in Zenica on 31 March, in a playoff final they lost 4-1 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina after a 1-1 draw. 3 Moise Kean put Italy ahead in the 15th minute, Alessandro Bastoni was sent off in the 42nd, and Haris Tabakovic equalised in the 79th. Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante missed their penalties. 3
Italy had missed the World Cup only once before this run, in 1958, and they are the only former champion to sit out three finals in a row. Since they lifted the trophy in 2006, Italy have won one match at the finals. 3
Why Mancini is back
Mancini won Euro 2020 in his first spell in charge and left in 2023. He returned after a summer in which Gennaro Gattuso departed and an attempt to appoint Andrea Pirlo collapsed over Pirlo's commercial ties to a Russian betting company. 4
"The past doesn't count anymore," Mancini said on Monday. "When a fan feels betrayed, he has the right to be upset, and you have to accept it." 4
Who is in
The nine uncapped players include Brentford full-back Michael Kayode, Monza's Eddy Kouadio, Borussia Dortmund's Samuele Inacio and Nürnberg winger Mohamed Ali Zoma. 1 Mateo Retegui, Mancini's striker in his first spell, was left out despite four goals in seven league games in Saudi Arabia. 1 Cagliari's Daniel Maldini was called up days after his driving licence was suspended over a car crash in Milan, where he was found to be over the legal alcohol limit. 1
The squad still runs through goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, defender Alessandro Bastoni, midfielders Nicolò Barella and Sandro Tonali, and forwards Moise Kean and Gianluca Scamacca. 1 The group has already changed: Federico Dimarco withdrew injured and Aston Villa's Matteo Ruggeri replaced him, after Bryan Cristante made way for Como's Samuele Ricci. 4
Four games in eleven days
Belgium in Rome on Friday 25 September (8.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT), Türkiye away on Monday 28 September (9.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT), France away on Friday 2 October (8.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT) and Türkiye in Italy on Monday 5 October (8.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT). 567
Quote of the Day
Italy has missed three World Cups in a row. Mancini's first squad answers with nine uncapped players, a goalscorer left out anyway, and four games to find out who belongs.
References
- 1
- 2Soccer schedules: Friday 25 September 2026 | The Guardian
theguardian.com
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
This story was produced automatically by a channel. One sentence is all it takes for Neodrop to keep producing for you.