In 2032, they’ll organise the European Championship together. In the meantime, Italy and Türkiye are preparing to face each other as part of their EURO 2024 preparations. Tomorrow evening’s 21:00 CEST kick-off at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna will be the team’s final test before Luciano Spalletti announces his 26-man squad for the Euros on 6 June. The Head Coach will also have the opportunity to assess the players who don’t play against Türkiye during an in-house training match with the U20s on Wednesday.

With Francesco Acerbi having already dropped out of the squad, the Azzurri have now also lost Giorgio Scalvini. Yesterday, during Atalanta’s rearranged league clash against Fiorentina, the defender tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He won’t be involved in the Euros: “It’s one of those things that you never want to happen, but it has happened before” said Spalletti during his pre-match press conference. I want to send a big hug to Giorgio in the hope that he recovers soon. He is capable of many things and, given the direction football is heading in, we need players like him.” At lunchtime, together with Gianluca Scamacca, Federico Gatti arrived at Coverciano. Gatti has been on standby since Friday and has spent the last few days training in Turin: “Seeing him arrive here full of sweat was a fantastic thing and sends out a great message in terms of where we want to arrive. He will be in the final squad.”

In the opening four days of camp, the Azzurri Head Coach has put the players to work, also focusing on their minds. The league season is now over, and those involved are 100% focused on the European Championship: “I have positive feelings, and the team is working professionally and attentively. We’re on the right track.”

Tomorrow, a tough test awaits Italy, who will take on Vincenzo Montella’s Türkiye. Montella is no stranger to Spalletti, who played with him at Empoli and then coached him at Sampdoria and Roma: “I know Montella well. He’s a smart guy, really switched on. At Adana (the team he coached between 2021 and 2023, Ed.), he displayed all his qualities. Türkiye won their qualifying group and, from midfield to further up the pitch, have flair and quality. They’re capable of countering quickly and have players who play for the strongest teams in the world. It’ll be an important and difficult game, both because of the current situation we’re in and what we have to get right.”

On Wednesday, those who won’t feature at the Dall’Ara will be able to showcase their qualities during the scheduled in-house friendly with the Under-20 National Team: “It’s another match that will allow us to assess things. We’ve organised it to ensure everyone gets the same playing time.” The Head Coach also revealed a few line-up choices that he’s already made for the match in Bologna: “Orsolini will play, while Retegui will be selected up front and Vicario will be the man between the sticks.”

After congratulating Bologna (“they had a wonderful season and deservedly qualified for the Champions League”), Spalletti had a few words to say about an unforgettable No.9: “I want to remember Vialli with his face of longing and his strong and brave eyes. We want to feel his presence, even if he won’t be with us.” In terms of No.10s, the Head Coach had the following to say: “Pellegrini can be our No.10, but Barella can be too: he makes those surprising moves that catch you by surprise.”

FAGIOLI. At today’s press conference at Coverciano, Spalletti was joined by Nicolò Fagioli, who recently received his second Italy call-up a year and a half on from his one and only Azzurri appearance to date (against Albania in a friendly in November 2022).

After serving a seven-month suspension for betting violations, the Juventus midfielder returned to the pitch for the Bianconeri’s last two league matches. Despite Fagioli only featuring for just over 100 minutes across the games against Bologna and Monza, Spalletti decided to call him up for the training camp, mentioning his quality and the fact that it was solely a technical choice. “These seven months were very long for me,” said the 23-year-old. “I kept on training with the aim of getting back into shape and being an option for the European Championship. It’s a fantastic feeling to be here, and now I’ll do what I can to be part of the 26-man squad. If it doesn’t happen, I’ll support Italy from afar.”

The call-up came as a surprise, even if he was able to meet with the Head Coach in Rome when the Coppa Italia final was played a few weeks ago. “He phoned me in March to ask me how I was doing. Then, he saw me in the hotel before the final and told me he’d watch me play in the final two league fixtures. However, he didn’t mention in advance that he’d name me in the squad. Given I was out for so long, I was surprised by the call-up, which I found out about on the internet. I was sleeping and my phone started buzzing, with thousands of messages then arriving. At that point, I sensed that something good had happened.”

Although he’s disappointed that Juventus teammate Manuel Locatelli isn’t in the squad (“he’s a friend who I care for, and I told him that he deserved to be here), it’s clear that Fagioli is delighted to be back doing what he loves most: “Mentally, I’m doing really well. I’m making the most of this week here and every single moment, like this morning with the number tens. It’s almost impossible to compare myself to them, who are true champions, but, from a technical perspective, I can give a lot to the National Team.”

Speaking of players with fine feet and quality, Türkiye have a certain Hakan Çalhanoğlu in their ranks: “He’s one of the three/four strongest midfielders in the world and was one of a few who spoke to me after my suspension. He’s a fantastic person. Tomorrow, a difficult match awaits against a very strong side.” Finally, the Bianconeri man sent his best wishes to the Under-17 National Team, who beat Denmark yesterday to progress to the European Championship final: “I lost in the final to the Netherlands (on 20 May 2018 in Rotherham, England, with Samuele Ricci also in that squad, Ed.), and I wish the boys all the best.”

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Hellas Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino);
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).