The day after their draw with Switzerland, which means that direct qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will come down to the final round of fixtures in Group C, the Azzurri held a morning session in Rome at the Acqua Acetosa Olympic Training Centre in Rome. Those who played yesterday did recovery work in the pool, while the others trained on the pitch.

With Alessandro Bastoni having been forced to withdraw this morning, two other players will leave the Italy camp in the next few hours. The first is Davide Calabria, who is suffering from a muscle strain in his right calf, while Cristiano Biraghi is also returning home for personal reasons. Roberto Mancini has decided to call up Davide Zappacosta for the trip to Northern Ireland. The Atalanta defender will join up with the squad in a few hours ahead of the Azzurri’s flight to Belfast tomorrow morning.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lione), Gian Marco Ferrari (Sassuolo), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Davide Zappacosta (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Tommaso Pobega (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Milan);
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo).

chedule (all times CET unless stated otherwise)

Saturday 13 November
15:00 – Training at the Acqua Acetosa Olympic Training Centre in Rome (behind closed doors)
Sunday 14 November
10:30 – Transfer from Rome to Belfast
11:30 l.t Training, Northern Ireland (first 15 minutes open to the press)
13:00 l.t – Press conference, Northern Ireland ***(access for journalists)
17:30 l.t – Press conference, ITALY ***(access for journalists)
18:00 l.t – Training ITALY ***(first 15 minutes open to the media)
Monday 15 November
19:45 l.t – Northern Ireland vs. ITALY. Followed by post-match press conference and return to respective clubs

*Depending on capacity, journalists and photographers will be granted access to the press conference and the first 15 minutes of the team’s training session on Monday 8 November
**Only journalists will have access to successive press conferences at Coverciano, with the remaining training sessions taking place behind closed doors. TV operators will not be granted access. The FIGC will produce and distribute images relating to press conferences and training sessions to relevant parties upon request. For more info: Massimiliano Reale (FIGC Area Sales): email: m.reale@figcit. Tel: 06/84913023.
***The press conferences in Belfast will be reserved for eight media outlets. A Zoom link will be provided for accredited journalists to follow the conference.