The National Team will train at Coverciano this afternoon after meeting up at the Federal Technical Centre yesterday to prepare for Wednesday’s friendly against Moldova and the two Nations League fixtures against Poland and the Netherlands. In compliance with guidelines from the health authorities, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will undergo the relevant assessments and must obtain authorisation before joining up with the squad. Meanwhile, the National Team medical staff have confirmed that Fiorentina midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli is unable to play. He therefore left the Federal Technical Centre yesterday evening.

Travelling from Paris, and not without a scare, Alessandro Florenzi arrived at Coverciano today: “Last night, we had to make an emergency landing. We were forced to return to Paris and depart again this morning,” the former Roma captain explained during his press conference. He then touched on the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic: “When I’m here with the National Team and in Paris, I feel very safe: we’re practically monitored 24 hours a day. In our private lives, we players need to go about our lives very differently, trying to go out as little as possible and avoiding going to crowded places.”

His Paris Saint Germain adventure could not have started better, and he scored his first goal for the French side on Friday evening in a resounding 6-1 over Angers: “The group immediately welcomed me with open arms, I’m playing my game and doing it with some of the biggest champions in the world.” At the moment, however, he’s fully focused on the National Team, who will play a friendly against Moldova in Florence on Wednesday. It’ll undoubtedly be an invaluable test ahead of Italy’s Nations League fixtures against Poland and the Netherlands. A victory would also help Italy in terms of the World Cup qualifying draw: “Mancini has already told us that our objective is to win the game with our world ranking in mind. The National Team has a positive effect on both clubs and fans. Many people are asking me about the National Team, it’s clear that we’re entertaining them. Mancini’s imprint is clear: any player can fit into the group instantly, irrespective of how long they’ve been involved with the team.” The Azzurri’s victory over the Netherlands in Amsterdam was proof that their eleven-game winning streak, which was interrupted by their draw against Bosnia & Herzegovina, was no fluke: “We did well to find our feet again after the circumstances brought about by COVID. We hope that we can prepare the European Championships without any other setbacks.”

Florenzi also commented on Italy’s upcoming match against the Netherlands on 14 October in Bergamo, one of the places most affected by Coronavirus: “After seeing what our country has been through in recent months, representing Italy has given us a boost and makes us proud. It'll be a special game in Bergamo and we're looking forward to it.”

Squad

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Marco Silvestri (Hellas Verona), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), *Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), *Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Danilo D’Ambrosio (Inter), Emerson Palmieri Dos Santos (Chelsea), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint Germain), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (West Ham United), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Giacomo Bonaventura (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenua), Vincenzo Grifo (Friburgo), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Moise Kean (Everton), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna).

Schedule

Sunday 4 October

Meeting at Coverciano

Monday 5 October

13:45 CEST – Media duties (player)* in the auditorium at Coverciano

16:30 CEST – Training (behind closed doors)** at Coverciano

Tuesday 6 October

14:30 CEST – ITALY press conference (head coach + player)*** at the Artemio Franchi in Florence

18:15 CEST – ITALY training (behind closed doors)** at Coverciano

19:30 CEST – MOLDOVA press conference (head coach + player)*** at the Artemio Franchi in Florence

20:00 CEST – MOLDOVA training (open for the first 15 mins) at the Artemio Franchi

Wednesday 7 October

14:00 CEST – FIGC-RAI press conference Coverciano

20:45 CEST – ITALY VS. MOLDOVA (friendly) at the Artemio Franchi

Press conference following the game

Thursday 8 October

16:30 CEST – Training (behind closed doors)** at Coverciano

Friday 9 October

10:30 CEST – Training (behind closed doors)** at Coverciano

13:30 CEST – Media duties (player) in the auditorium at Coverciano

17:30 CEST – Travel from Florence to Venice

Saturday 10 October

10:45 CEST – Travel from Venice to Gdansk

11:00 CEST – POLAND training (open for the first 15 mins) at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

13:15 CEST – POLAND press conference at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

17:30 – ITALY press conference at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

18:00 CEST – ITALY training (open for the first 15 mins) at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

Sunday 11 October

20:45 CEST – POLAND VS. ITALY (UNL matchday 3) at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

Press conference following the game

Monday 12 October

11:00 CEST – Training (behind closed doors) in Gdansk

17:45 CEST – Travel from Gdansk to Bergamo

Tuesday 13 October

16:30 CEST – NETHERLANDS press conference*** at the Stadio di Bergamo

17:00 CEST – NETHERLANDS training (open for the first 15 mins) at the Stadio di Bergamo

17:30 CEST – ITALY press conference*** at the Stadio di Bergamo

18:00 CEST – ITALY TRAINING (open for the first 15 mins) at the Stadio di Bergamo

Wednesday 14 October

20:45 CEST – ITALY V NETHERLANDS (UNL matchday 4) at the Stadio di Bergamo

Press conference following the game

* images from the event will distributed by the FIGC after it has finished

** 15 minutes of images will be produced and distributed by the FIGC

*** access to the press room will be limited to a reduced number of media members, feeds are available on screens at the stadium.