Following the Giallorossi’s triumph over Feyenoord in Tirana in the Conference League, five Roma players today joined up with the group at Coverciano. The Azzurri are continuing preparations for the Finalissima on Wednesday against Argentina and the four successive UEFA Nations League fixtures. So it’s a run of stern tests for Italy at the start of June.

One year ago, Italy were about to begin their run to glory at EURO 2020 and Gianluigi Donnarumma – like his teammates – could never have imagined that it would all go so well. Eleven months later, the Azzurri shot-stopper will return to Wembley, where he became a hero after saving penalties taken by Sancho and Saka. “We shouldn’t forget what we did at the Euros,” he said in a press conference today, “this is a great group and we did something amazing.”

Following the Euros, however, Italy were left disappointed after failing to qualify for the World Cup. And between a few too many appearances on the bench for PSG and the odd error, the Azzurri keeper has come in for some criticism: “It’s not been an easy year but I’m still me and I am working as hard as possible. The disappointment about the World Cup is still fresh and we need to win on Wednesday. We need to go again, play well and win.”

He, having made his Serie A debut at 16 years and 8 months old and his international debut at 17, has shown the benefits of investing in youth: “We need to start again with the young players as the basis. We have a lot of talented youngsters, as well as me: Bastoni, Raspadori, Scamacca. We youngsters need to take Italy back to the top.”

He then complimented his former AC Milan teammates on the Serie A title, “I’m happy for them but I don’t regret leaving”, and also remembered the late Mino Raiola, “we had an amazing relationship and he always wanted to do big things for his players.” He then congratulated his ‘colleague’ Thibaut Courtois: “he had an amazing game and kept Real Madrid on their feet until the end. Donnarumma also thanked Chiellini, who will bow out of international football on Wednesday: “I’ll miss Giorgio. He’s set a brilliant example for Italian football, especially for the younger guys. He has given us a great hand.”

On Wednesday in London, he will meet his two club teammates in Messi and Di Maria: “When we left Paris for the last game, we spoke a little bit about it. Argentina are a good team and we need to prepare for this game as best possible.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Emerson Palmieri Dos Santos (Olympique Lyonnais), Alessandro Florenzi (Milan), Federico Gatti (Frosinone), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Luiz Felipe (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Salvatore Esposito (Spal), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo), Jorginho Frello Jorge Luiz (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Tommaso Pobega (Torino), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Milan), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain);
Attackers: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Matteo Cancellieri (Verona), Gianluca Caprari (Verona), Wilfried Gnonto (Zurigo), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Bioty Kean (Juventus), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma), Alessio Zerbin (Frosinone).

Source: figc.it

It’s the second day of training at Coverciano for the National Team, who began their preparations for the Finalissima against Argentina and their first four UEFA Nations League matches yesterday. As he waits for the five Conference League-winning Roma players to join up with the group tomorrow (they were given an extra 48 hours of rest), Roberto Mancini will also be working with 40 players today, including the six new faces (Gatti, Esposito, Ricci, Cancellieri, Gnonto and Zerbin) that the Head Coach included in the squad after watching them in the training camp dedicated to promising young talents.

With 47 Italy appearances to his name, Alessandro Florenzi, meanwhile, can now very much consider himself a regular at Coverciano. The last ten months have been unforgettable for the AC Milan defender, who, after the triumph at Wembley with the Azzurri, has now also won the Scudetto: “During my time at AC Milan, I’ve noticed many similarities between the Rossoneri and the Euro-winning Italy side. I’ve been saying it for a while now; they didn’t really understand me at AC Milan because they hadn’t experienced what I experienced. In the end, I’m glad that I was right.

Between the European Championship and the Scudetto title, there’s also been the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup: “If we had been eliminated against Portugal in the final, it would have been different. I say this with the utmost respect for North Macedonia, who, however, aren’t on our level. But nothing can be taken for granted in football; you need to play every match as if it were a final. That said, we had 50 shots in Palmero. We created lots of chances in our qualifying matches but weren’t able to convert them. There are no regrets as regards the way we played. It’s difficult to understand how we didn’t qualify, and we’re obviously disappointed with what happened. But now we want to turn the page.” In order to start this new chapter, a lot of focus needs to be paid to young players, who also need to get playing time under their belts for their respective clubs: “A lot of youngsters aren’t playing a lot and it isn’t easy. Are they ready? Yes and no. Tonali, for example, is ready to play for the National Team.”

While Chiellini is set to say his final goodbyes, Florenzi has no intention of leaving the Azzurri setup: “You can never say no to Italy. We’ll miss Giorgio’s charisma, his smile, his speeches and his sense of calm. A legend of Italian football is moving on, and we hope his time with the National Team will end on a winning note on Wednesday.” Roberto Mancini is still in the Azzurri dugout and, when asked if he feared the Head Coach would resign after the defeat to North Macedonia, Florenzi gave the following response: “I was more worried he’d resign when we won the Euros.”

When the Azzurri come up against Argentina at Wembley, all those joyful memories of a year ago will inevitably return: “I would have been the sixth penalty-taker, so I thank Gigio for that. Returning to Wembley will be a special feeling. The disappointment of missing out on the World Cup remains in all of us, but we also need to remember what we did at the European Championship.”

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Emerson Palmieri Dos Santos (Olympique Lyonnais), Alessandro Florenzi (Milan), Federico Gatti (Frosinone), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Luiz Felipe (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Salvatore Esposito (Spal), Davide Frattesi (Sassuolo), Jorginho Frello Jorge Luiz (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Tommaso Pobega (Torino), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Milan), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain);
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Matteo Cancellieri (Verona), Gianluca Caprari (Verona), Wilfried Gnonto (FC Zurich), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Bioty Kean (Juventus), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma), Alessio Zerbin (Frosinone).

Source:  figc.it