Chelsea full-back Emerson Palmieri gets the nod in Italy vs. Spain to replace the injured Leonardo Spinazzola.
Emerson, 26, managed only 15 appearances across all competitions with Chelsea in 2020-21. However, he’s one of Mancini’s favourites, having made his senior Azzurri debut under the former Manchester City coach in 2018.
The former Roma man has 17 caps to his name and, as expected, he replaces Leonardo Spinazzola at left-back in the UEFA Euro 2020 semi-final against Spain.
It kicks off at 8 pm UK time at Wembley Stadium.
Spinazzola had sustained a serious Achilles tendon injury against Belgium on Friday and underwent surgery in Finland on Monday.
Emerson came off the bench to replace the Roma defender during the last 10 minutes of the game against the Red Devils and today, he starts against La Roja.
Pressure will be high on the Brazil-born defender who must replace one of the best players of the tournament for the Azzurri.
In fact, Spinazzola was named MVP in two of Italy’s five games at the Euros.
The Roma defender is expected to remain out of action for around six months.
Spinazzola returned to Rome, where he met the Giallorossi coach José Mourinho.
Emerson has been linked with a return to Serie A in the summer as his contract with Chelsea expires in June 2022.