There are Daniel Maldini and nine new names in the list of 34 Azzurri called up by Roberto Mancini for the national team. In the first squad list of the new management, alongside the Cagliari forward who was recently involved in a drink-driving incident with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, there are Pessina, Ghilardi, Kayode, Kouadio, Doumbia, Romano, Sebastiano Esposito, Vergara and Zoma receiving their first ever call-up. This is Mancini's list of call-ups.

Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Massimo Pessina (Bologna), Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus);

Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Diego Coppola (Paris FC), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Roma), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Eddy Kouadio (Monza), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Issa Doumbia (Sporting CP), Nicolò Fagioli (Fiorentina), Davide Frattesi (Lazio), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Alessandro Romano (Cagliari), Sandro Tonali (Tottenham);

Forwards: Nicolò Cambiaghi (Bologna), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Sebastiano Esposito (Sassuolo), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Moise Kean (Como), Daniel Maldini (Cagliari), Giacomo Raspadori (Atalanta), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Antonio Vergara (Napoli), Nicolò Zaniolo (Udinese), Mohamed Alì Zoma (Nuremberg).

With four matches in eleven days — a true tour de force to rediscover enthusiasm and confidence following the failure to qualify for the World Cup — Mancini has therefore chosen a large squad. The nine newcomers are Bologna goalkeeper Massimo Pessina, Roma defender Daniele Ghilardi, Brentford defender Michael Kayode, Monza defender Eddy Kouadio, Cagliari midfielder Alessandro Romano, Sporting midfielder Issa Doumbia, Sassuolo forward Sebastiano Esposito, Napoli forward Antonio Vergara and Nuremberg forward Mohamed Alì Zoma.

Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace) and Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund) are retained following their call-up last June for friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece, while Nicolò Fagioli and Nicolò Zaniolo — both absent since October 2024 — and Rolando Mandragora, last called up in March 2021, return to wear the Azzurri shirt after a period away. During the training camp, Diana Bianchedi will also make her debut as head of delegation. The former Italian fencer, who boasts extensive managerial experience in sport, is the first woman to hold the role.

Italy will hold their first training session at Coverciano on Monday before making their debut in the fifth edition of the Nations League on Friday, 25 September against Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Three days later, the Azzurri will visit Turkey at the Atatürk Spor Kompleksi in Bursa, before facing France in Saint-Denis on Friday, 2 October. The first seasonal international window will close with the second home match against Turkey, scheduled for Monday, 5 October at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna.

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