Some eyebrows were raised when Roberto Mancini excluded talented youngsters Giorgio Scalvini and Sandro Tonali from the Italy squad set to travel to the Netherlands to take part in the Nations League finals in June, however, it turns out that they are both still in line to represent their country over the summer.
In the FIGC’s statement released along with the squad announcement on Monday evening, it was stated that Scalvini and Tonali had been left out of the squad to help the Club Italia model, which aims to achieve success across all age groups of the national set-up.
With that in mind, it is assumed that Scalvini and Tonali will be made available to Azzurrini coach Paolo Nicolato in view of the Under-21 European Championship in Romania and Georgia over the summer.
Despite being 23 years of age, Tonali is still eligible to feature thanks to the UEFA rule that states players born in or before the year 2000 are allowed to take part, as they would have been 21 at the start of the qualifying campaign in 2021.
Italy have not won the Under-21s Euros since 2004 and will be aiming to put an end to their 19-year run without a trophy when the 2023 edition kicks off on June 21.
The youth team have been drawn in a group with France, Switzerland and Norway and will kick off their campaign against their French counterparts on June 22.