Mancini adds 9 new faces to Italy's national team

Italy national team coach Roberto Mancini summoned 34 players, including nine new faces, yesterday, Friday, in preparation for his first four matches in his second stint as head of the Azzurri’s technical staff.

Mancini succeeded Gennaro Gattuso as Italy’s national team coach after Gattuso resigned following Italy’s loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup qualification playoffs last March.

The 61-year-old Mancini returns to lead the Italian national team for the second time, having previously managed the side between 2018 and 2023, during which he guided them to victory in the UEFA Euro 2020 championship.

Mancini begins his new tenure with four Nations League matches within just 11 days, as part of League A, Group 1.

Italy will host Belgium in Rome on the 25th, before traveling to Bursa to face Turkey three days later. They will then play France at the Stade de France on October 2, followed by a home match against Turkey in Bologna on October 5.

The squad includes nine players making their first call-up to the senior national team: Bologna goalkeeper Massimo Biseo; defenders Daniele Gelardini from Roma, Michael Kayode from English club Brentford, and Edoardo Caudullo from Monza; midfielders Alessandro Romano from Cagliari and Issa Dumbuya from Portuguese club Sporting CP; and forwards Sebastiano Esposito from Sassuolo, Antonio Vergara from Napoli, and Mohamed Ali Zoua from German club Nuremberg.

Mancini also retained young midfielders Honeyst Ahanor from English club Crystal Palace and Samuel Iling-Junior from German club Borussia Dortmund, after previously calling them up for the first time during the friendly matches against Luxembourg and Greece in June.

The squad also saw the return of Nicolò Fagioli and Nicolò Zaniolo to the national team for the first time since October 2024, while midfielder Rolando Mandragora returned to the squad after making his sole international appearance in 2018.