Rome (AFP)
Italy’s squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against France and Israel on September 6 and 9 includes the return of Newcastle United player Sandro Tonali, who was implicated in a high-profile sports betting scandal last fall, but does not include Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella.
Italy coach Luciano Spalletti called up attacking midfielder Tonali (15 international matches) who has been absent from his country’s national team since September 2023, noting that he was suspended for 10 months in October 2023 for his involvement in a sports betting case on illegal platforms, which prevented him from participating in the 2024 European Cup.
Spalletti will miss his best player and top scorer Barella (57 caps, 10 goals) after agreeing to allow him to undergo ear, nose and throat surgery in the coming days due to sinus problems, according to the Italian Football Federation.
The former Napoli coach has called up two new faces: Leicester City defender Caleb Okolie, who was at the Italian national team’s 2022 training camp but did not play in any games, and Marco Bresciannini, Atalanta’s new signing from Frosinone.
Liverpool’s new striker Federico Chiesa (51 caps, seven goals) was not called up, making way for Moise Kean (15 caps, four goals), who joined Fiorentina this summer and has been absent from his country’s national team since last November.
Italy will visit France at the Parc des Princes on September 6, then face Israel three days later in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Here is the lineup:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham, England), Alex Meret (Napoli).
Defence: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raul Bellanova (Atalanta), Alessandro Bongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiazzo (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Di Marco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Caleb Okolie (Leicester City), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham).
Midfielders: Marco Brescia (Atalanta), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United, England).
For attack: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Matteo Rettig (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).
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