Italy CT Roberto Mancini admits Andrea Belotti and Nicolò Barella could play against Switzerland tomorrow and believes the Azzurri have room for improvement.
Italy host Switzerland at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico tomorrow in a key World Cup qualifying match.
It kicks off at 19.45 UK time tomorrow.
Italy and Switzerland are the Group C leaders, but the Azzurri have a better goal difference.
La Nazionale must cope without the injured Giorgio Chiellini and Ciro Immobile, who were part of the team that won Euro 2020 over the summer.
Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolò Zanilo also pulled out of the squad.
“We feel sorry for Immobile and Chiellini, but it’s the same thing with all the national teams. There could be more injuries at this stage,” Mancini said at a press conference.
“We are in a positive situation, we know who we are as a team and we must remain calm.
“We have two training sessions remaining, but we’ll play well regardless of any tactical decision we’ll take.”
Mancini could use a false 9 or replace Immobile with Belotti and the Torino striker seems likely to start.
“The lads have recovered over the last couple of days and Belotti has a chance to play,” said Mancini.
“He is not 100% fit, perhaps he can’t play 90 minutes, but if he could score in the opening 60-65 minutes, it could be good.
“Barella has trained well and I think he will be on the pitch tomorrow.”
Italy beat Switzerland during a group stage game at the Euros, but all the pressure will be on the Azzurri tomorrow who didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup with Giampiero Ventura in charge.
“The lads are calm and focused, they know we must be at our best to win tomorrow,” Mancini continued.
“Switzerland play great football, every game against Switzerland has been challenging, we need to play our way, they’ll do their best, like us.
“We haven’t changed much since the Euros, we have room for improvement and we can become stronger for the World Cup.”