Roma and Lazio were the biggest contributors to Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad for the upcoming World Cup play-offs, giving the upcoming derby an extra layer.
The Derby della Capitale is one of the most hotly contested matches in Italian football and the tense mood is already palpable in Rome in the days leading up to the game, which kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 UK time.
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Mancini announced his 33-man Italy squad for the upcoming World Cup play-offs earlier today and both Roman clubs heavily contributed to the team, sending four players each as the Azzurri work to book their place in the tournament in Qatar.
The four Roma players called up by Mancini are Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolò Zaniolo and the four Lazio players are Francesco Acerbi, Luiz Felipe, Mattia Zaccagni and Ciro Immobile.
Juventus, who have historically made important contributions to the Azzurri, are only sending three players for the play-offs: Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Manuel Locatelli.
I convocati di Mancini per i play-off: Lazio e Roma le squadre con più giocatori in Nazionale https://t.co/wYLY4kXhEA
— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) March 18, 2022