By Anna Italia
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Italian Soccer Serie A

🇮🇹👉 Italy Head Coach Luciano Spalletti has called up 28 players for the international friendly games against Venezuela and Ecuador. These are games to prepare ahead of the EURO 2024. The Italian team return to the United States after 30 years after USA ’94 and nineteen years since the last time. Two challenging tests, the first of 2024, against two South American national teams in full swing for the upcoming World Cup.

• On Thursday 21 March, Italy will play against Venezuela (22:00 CET Italian time, 5:00 PM local time – live on Rai 1) at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, home of Inter Miami.
• On Sunday 24 March, Italy will play against Ecuador (21:00 CET Italian time, 4:00 PM local time – live on Rai 1) at the Red Bull Arena, in the New York area, in Harrison, New Jersey.

Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham); Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Inter), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Giacomo Bonaventura (Fiorentina), Michael Folorunsho (Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Jorginho (Arsenal), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma);

Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Lorenzo Lucca (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Aston Villa).
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Three players receiving their first called up include Torino defender Raoul Bellanova, Verona midfielder Michael Folorunsho, and Udinese forward Lorenzo Lucca. All three had already been called up for previous gatherings dedicated to players of national interest, with Folorunsho unable to respond to the last call-up due to an illness.

• ✈️   IN THE USA WITH ITA AIRWAYS. The Azzurri will gather on Sunday, 17 March, in Rome, and on Monday will hold their first training session at the CPO Giulio Onesti at Acqua Acetosa. The departure for Miami is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:20 CET aboard an Airbus A330neo ITA Airways, a new-generation aircraft that is lightweight, silent, and efficient, boasting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per seat offered 25% lower than previous-generation aircraft.
• The flight will last 11 hours and 45 minutes, with arrival in Miami expected at 5:05 PM local time.

THE PREVIOUS MATCHES IN THE STATES.

The first time the National Team played in the United States dates back to 1976 when the Azzurri were invited to the Bicentennial Cup organized by the US federation for the 200th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. Italy, led by Fulvio Bernardini and Enzo Bearzot, debuted with a clear victory against the hosts (4-0) but then lost the following two matches against England (from 2-0 to 2-3) and Brazil (1-4). The last encounter in the USA dates back to June 2005. On 8 June, Marcello Lippi’s Italy drew 1-1 with then Serbia Montenegro (goals by Zigic and Cristiano Lucarelli), the same result as the second friendly played on 11 June in East Rutherford, in the New York area (goals by Luca Toni and Ayovi). In these two matches, Lippi tried out several players who would later be called up for the 2006 World Cup (Barone, Barzagli, Grosso, Oddo, Iaquinta, Peruzzi, Toni, and Zaccardo), laying the foundations for the triumph in Berlin. In between, of course, is the USA ’94 World Cup, in which after a shaky start, Arrigo Sacchi’s Italy, led by Roberto Baggio (with 5 goals, the top scorer of the National Team in the States), overcame Nigeria, Spain, and Bulgaria before succumbing only on penalties in the final against Brazil. Overall, the National Team, which has played in 7 stadiums and in 7 different states, has played 16 matches in the USA, with a record of 7 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses (20 goals scored, 14 conceded).

THE OPPONENTS. It will be the first meeting in history between Italy and Venezuela. The ‘Vinotinto’ has never participated in the final stage of a World Cup, but this long drought could end as they currently occupy 4th place (9 points in 6 matches) in the South American qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup, where, due to the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, the top 6 teams in the group will qualify. There have been 2 previous encounters with Ecuador: a victory for the Azzurri (2-0, with a brace from Vieri) in the final stage of the 2002 Japan and Korea World Cup and a draw (1-1, with a goal from Toni) in the 2005 friendly match in New York. The ‘Tricolor’ has participated in 4 World Cups (2002, 2006, 2014, and 2022), with their best result being the Round of 16 in 2006. In the qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup, after losing away to Argentina, they have put together a streak of 5 consecutive positive results (3 wins and 2 draws), but they only have 8 points in the standings due to a deduction (-3).

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