The Azzurri are taking part in their first matches of 2025 as they prepare to face Germany in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals, a double-header which represents a ‘sliding door’ into the future. The two matches - scheduled for Thursday 20 March at the ‘Giuseppe Meazza’ in Milan and then on Sunday 23 March at BVB Stadion in Dortmund. The matches will not only dictate qualification to the finals (which Italy would host in Turin, in June), but also the path towards the 2026 World Cup. If the Azzurri advance, they will be placed in a group alongside Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg. If we are defeated by Germany, we’d face Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. 

Luciano Spalletti has called up 25 players: the 22 year-old Atalanta defender, Matteo Ruggeri received his first call-up, as did the 22 year-old Torino midfielder Cesare Casadei. Matteo Politano and Mattia Zaccagni have been recalled to the squad.

The team will convene on Sunday evening in Appiano Gentile to train and prepare until the afternoon of Saturday 22 March, before heading off to Dortmund.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Cesare Casadei (Torino), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Nicolò Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Forwards: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Lucca (Udinese), Daniel Maldini (Atalanta), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).