After being forced to miss November’s matches due to a positive Covid-19 diagnosis, Roberto Mancini is set to take up his place in the Azzurri dugout once more. Yesterday evening, the National Team met up at Coverciano, where they'll get to work ahead of the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign. Matches against Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania await in the next nine days.

After the winter break and with less than three months to go until the start of the European Championship, Italy will be taking to the pitch with the objective of beginning their journey towards the World Cup in Qatar in the best possible fashion. Their first showdown will be in Parma, where they’ll be looking to extend their 22-game unbeaten run (17 wins and five draws) when they face Northern Ireland. Two away fixtures against Bulgaria and then Lithuania will follow.

“The first match is the most difficult: it’s our first game in five months, and it’s against a difficult side to face. They’re strong physically and have many players who play in the Premier League,” said Mancini in his press conference today. “We know that you can’t get it wrong on the road to the World Cup, we need to do the best we can in these three matches.”

As was the case in November, when he called up 41 players, the Head Coach has decided to name another large squad this time around, with 38 players having been included. This can also be put down to the uncertain situation surrounding the Covid-19 emergency, with the Head Coach still waiting to see whether he’ll have Inter players Bastoni, Barella and Sensi at his disposal: “We’re waiting to see what happens, but we’re quite confident.” Nicolò Zaniolo is doing everything to recover from injury, but the Head Coach spoke cautiously when commenting on his chances of making the European Championship squad: “We’re following what he’s doing and will think about it, but we can’t risk calling him up if he’s not ready. If he is ready, we’ll take him into consideration, but we need to be 100% sure.”  

When talking about Federico Chiesa, who is becoming an increasingly important figure for Juventus, Mancini was full of praise: “I’m happy because he’s made great strides forward in the last two months, but he can still improve. He’s very young and has now started to play at certain levels. In addition to being decisive due to his ability to beat his man, he’s capable of scoring a lot of goals.”

After expressing his disappointment at the premature elimination of Italian sides in Europe (“I always hope one of our teams can go all the way because there are players who play for the National Team), Mancini pointed out that there are a few too many absences in midfield: “In terms of numbers, we’re struggling in midfield: Jorginho recently took a blow to the knee and we haven’t risked calling him up, while Cristante will probably return home. As regards the Inter lads, we’ll see what happens.”

Mancini, whose 61-point haul is the best ever for an Italy Head Coach after 27 matches, can now also count on the enthusiasm of a World Champion in Daniele De Rossi, who has joined his coaching staff: “We’re happy that he’s with us, he was an important player in Italian football and we needed someone who could help us. Given that he wants to be a coach in the future, it’ll also be a useful experience for him.” The Head Coach also talked about Paolo Nicolato’s Under-21 side, who will play their first European Championship group stage game on Wednesday: “Good luck to them! They’ve also done well up to now and we hope that they can continue to improve.”

From the present to the past. In Parma on Thursday, Italy will take to the pitch wearing armbands and a minute’s silence will be observed to remember five Azzurri greats who have passed away in recent months: Pietro Anastasi, Mauro Bellugi, Mario Corso, Pierino Prati and Paolo Rossi. As a tribute to them, a video will also be shown on the big screen at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, while they’ll also be celebrated through virtual graphics that will be visible to those watching on TV. “We always say that once you become an ‘Azzurro’, you’re an ‘Azzurro’ forever,” said Delegation Head Gianluca Vialli, who was clearly moved when talking about former teammate and friend Paolo Rossi. “The duty of those who wear the Italy shirt is to preserve and pass on the memory of those who put it on before. We want to honour them in the best way possible, both through our performances and the way we go about our business.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter)*, Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Gian Marco Ferrari (Sassuolo), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint-Germain), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter)*, Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Matteo Ricci (Spezia)*, Stefano Sensi (Inter)*, Roberto Soriano (Bologna), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain);
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Bioty Kean (Paris Saint-Germain).

*Will join up with the squad should they gain approval from the relevant local health authority

Schedule

Monday 22 March
14:00 – Press conference – FIGC-RAI (FTC Coverciano Auditorium)
Press conference – Head Coach (Auditorium-CTF Coverciano)
16:30 – Training (behind closed doors)
Tuesday 23 March
13:45 – Press conference – FIGC/Panini (FTC Coverciano Auditorium)
Press conference – player (FTC Coverciano Auditorium)
16:30 – Training (behind closed doors)
Wednesday 24 March
11:00 – Departure from Florence to Parma
17:30  – Press conference – ITALY (Stadio Tardini, Parma)
18:00 – Training – ITALY (first 15 minutes open to the press) (Stadio Tardini, Parma)
19:30 – Press conference – Northern Ireland (Stadio Tardini, Parma)
Thursday 25 March
20:45 – ITALY vs. Northern Ireland (Stadio Tardini, Parma). Post-match press conference
Friday 26 March
11:00 – Training (behind closed doors) (Stadio Tardini, Parma)
12:30 – Press conference – player (Stadio Tardini, Parma)
Saturday 27 March
10:30 – Departure from Parma to Sofia
11:00 – Press conference – Bulgaria (Boyana National Football Center)
11:30 – Training – Bulgaria (first 15 minutes open to the press) (Boyana National Football Center)
18:00 – Press conference – ITALY (Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia)
18:30 – Training – ITALY (first 15 minutes open to the press) (Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia)
Sunday 28 March
20:45 Bulgaria vs. ITALY (Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia). Post-match press conference
Monday 29 March
11:30 – Training (behind closed doors)
Tuesday 30 March
10:45 – Departure from Sofia to Vilnius
16:30 – Press conference – Lithuania (LFF Stadium, Vilnius)
17:00 – Training – Lithuania (first 15 minutes open to the press) (LFF Stadium, Vilnius)
17:30 – Press conference – ITALY (LFF Stadium, Vilnius)
18:00 – Training – ITALY (first 15 minutes open to the press) (LFF Stadium, Vilnius)
Wednesday 31 March
20:45 – Lithuaniua vs. ITALY (LFF Stadium, Vilnius). Post-match press conference followed by return to respective clubs