Italy CT Roberto Mancini has not called up Roma forward Nicolò Zaniolo or Juventus winger Federico Chiesa for the match against Lithuania.
The Azzurri play this month’s third World Cup Qualifier against Lithuania tonight, but the squad is getting thinner for every day, as Mancini must cope without Zaniolo and Chiesa too.
The Giallorossi forward has been left out of the squad, as he didn’t participate in the last session at Coverciano due to a bruise on his left thigh that he suffered in the game against Switzerland.
Zaniolo is uncertain for the match against Sassuolo this weekend to, when Jose Mourinho might be without Lorenzo Pellegrini too, as the two Roma players return from international duty with physical problems.
The list includes 23 players and Italy are without Inter midfielder Stefano Sensi and Juventus forward Chiesa in tonight’s game.
Chiesa reportedly trained with the Azzurri today, but has not been included in the list of players available for the game at the Mapei Stadium.
Italy squad against Lithuania:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Pierluigi Gollini, Salvatore Sirigu
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, Cristiano Biraghi, Leonardo Bonucci, Davide Calabria, Giorgio Chiellini, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Florenzi, Rafael Toloi
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella, Federico Bernardeschi, Gaetano Castrovilli, Bryan Cristante, Jorginho, Manuel Locatelli, Matteo Pessina
Attackers: Domenico Berardi, Moise Kean, Giacomo Raspadori, Gianluca Scamacca
Bring Chiesa home
My starting XI for tonight
Donnarumma
Calabria
Bonucci
Chiellini
Biraghi
Pessina
Cristante
Locatelli
Berardi
Raspadori
Kean
We will find out how good motivator Mancini is
in a way I’m glad that most of Mancinis main startes are not available we need to find out how good the rest are and there’s not a better than than against Lithuania,
reply to DM:
Yep agree with you there. Hopefully someone like a Raspadori or a Kean (if selected for the 11) can step up and give Mancini a selection headache up front. We need more alternatives to just Immobile. Same for the defence. Need more options other than relying on Chiellini and Bonucci all the time.
I suggest partnering either Chiellini or Bonucci with Bastoni in the centre.