Italy Squad Announced: Gattuso Excludes Five for Northern Ireland Clash
Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso has unveiled his final squad for the upcoming World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland. The announcement sees the exclusion of five players, notably the injured Gianluca Scamacca, alongside Juventus' Andrea Cambiaso and three other hopefuls.
The omission of Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca was anticipated, as he had been training separately from the main group at Coverciano in the days leading up to the selection.
In addition to Scamacca, four more players were cut from the initial list. These include goalkeeper Elia Caprile, defender Diego Coppola, winger Nicolò Cambiaghi, and Juventus' Andrea Cambiaso.
Cambiaghi had only recently joined the squad on Monday as a replacement for the injured Federico Chiesa.
With Matteo Politano expected to fill the right midfield role and Cambiaso no longer in contention, 21-year-old Marco Palestra, on loan at Cagliari from Atalanta, has been called up as a backup for the right flank. This marks Palestra's first senior international call-up, making him eligible to represent the Azzurri.
Italy's Official Squad for Northern Ireland Clash
Goalkeepers: Donnarumma (Manchester City), Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Meret (Napoli).
Defenders: Palestra (Cagliari), Dimarco (Inter), Spinazzola (Napoli), Buongiorno (Napoli), Calafiori (Arsenal), Gatti (Juventus), Scalvini (Atalanta), Bastoni (Inter), Mancini (Roma).
Midfielders: Locatelli (Juventus), Tonali (Newcastle United), Pisilli (Roma), Cristante (Roma), Frattesi (Inter), Barella (Inter).
Strikers: Retegui (Al-Qadsiah), Raspadori (Atalanta), Kean (Fiorentina), Esposito (Inter), Politano (Napoli).
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