There is reportedly only one doubt for Roberto Mancini on who to field for Italy, while North Macedonia look to ex-Palermo striker Aleksandar Trajkovski.
The World Cup play-off semi-final is at Palermo’s Stadio Barbera on Thursday at 19.45 GMT.
The winners go on to face either Portugal or Turkey in an away fixture on Tuesday March 29.
Mancini seemingly has his team all picked and in defence those decisions are rather foisted upon him by the absence of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Rafael Toloi.
Leonardo Bonucci did not take part in full training today, suggesting he might not even be on the bench, while Giorgio Chiellini is not 100 per cent fit and could be rested ahead of the potential Final.
The choice at centre-back is therefore between Lazio’s Francesco Acerbi or Roma centre-back Gianluca Mancini.
Considering Alessandro Bastoni is the other pick, the coach may well opt for the greater experience of Acerbi.
Alessandro Florenzi and Emerson Palmieri are the default full-backs, with few doubts elsewhere, including Domenico Berardi and Lorenzo Insigne flanking Ciro Immobile.
North Macedonia have Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas suspended for this semi-final, while Adis Jahovic has pulled out through injury.
It’s reported they will go for Trajkovski upfront, as he spent five years playing for Palermo in this very stadium.
They officially play in a 4-3-3 formation, but it is mainly a 4-5-1 when defending.
Milan Ristovski is expected to lead the way, flanked by Trajkovski and Darko Churlinov, who is again more defensively-minded.
Arijan Ademi of Dinamo Zagreb is the favourite to take over from Elmas in midfield.
Probable line-ups
Italy (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bastoni, Acerbi, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Berardi, Immobile, Insigne
North Macedonia (4-3-3): Dimitrievski; S Ristovski, Velkovski, Musliu, Alioski; Bardhi, Spirovski, Ademi; Churlinov, M Ristovski, Trajkovski
Ref: Turpin (FRA)
Mancini ha già fatto l’Italia. Un solo dubbio: Acerbi o l’altro Mancini? #ItaliaMacedoniadelNord https://t.co/Td6NEfAlNR
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) March 23, 2022
Nevermind that it’s Acerbi, two left-footed center-backs who have always played on the left side makes me uncomfortable.
Not acerbi please
im so confused as to what Mancini is doing….recalls Balo which i thought was a backwards move of desperation. but strangely id rather have him than Belotti who can be completely useless in attack and has been in such awful form / injured the entire season ?? then theres the J. Pedro L. Felipe addition which is very bizarre to me. why not Calabria and Romagnoli ? this will be Ciro and Insignes last chance to be part of positive azzurri history in most important time.
if Italy fail again i think Serie A wil collapse.
It’s just amazing to me how similar the bizarre behavior has been between Mancini and Ventura during the World Cup qualifying. Not giving chances to deserving players and instead relying on washed up guys.
How on earth for example could a player like Florenzi be called up??
I look at the team he called up and I see a complete lack of imagination and desperation at the same time.
Italy will struggle to defeat Macedonia
Florenzi has been great this year.. Who would you have preferred, de sciglio??? What worries me more than anything is acerbi playing
Life was so much easier with Nesta and Cannavaro.
What a dropoff, man.
If Bastoni puts in a stinker like he did versus Spain in the NL and laugh about it the next day then I don’t want to see him in Azzurro ever again.
Time for him to play like his idol — Sergio Ramos in his Prime.
italy starts tonight not but to qualify it is all about its prestige & one of football powers. having to fail to qualify for 2nd consecutive time shall be a disaster by all means. i am a big fan of italy since ‘82 back then i saw a team of great determination & persistence which was repeated in 2006 triumph. now this is italy that all fans wants to see. i consider italy the salt of world cup tournaments, imagine food without its major ingredient. wishing italy all the best.
I would prefer to see Scamacca start over Immobile.
Its sad to not have Chiesa on the left, and to use MLS level player there, ist it possible to give that left flank for someone else than Insigne?
Whats sad is Italy are about to play against Macedonia and we are worried! Thats sad!
It wont be long and San Marino will be a challenge to. But here were same problems just getting worse and instead of building a future plan for Italian youth to be legally included in Serie A teams we still see teams buying from all corners of the world.
I mean Juve and every other ‘hope’ has failed so why not give the younsters a few years in teams, Seriea A clubs have nothing to lose the ‘tactic’ of buying cheap from Africa and South America hasn’t worked. Stick a 21 year old italian upfront and givethe kid a shot.
It’s painful to read that Macedonia is challenge that Italy could fail at.
Tifosi Azzurri, our World Cup 2022 starts TODAY. If we want to be World Champions, we have to act and prove it to deserve it. There are many coulda/woulda/shoulda’s here, but we have what we have. Avanti Italia/ Forza Italia/ Forza Azzurri per sempre!!!!