Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso has finalized his squad for tonight’s World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland. The injured Gianluca Scamacca has been officially omitted, a decision anticipated as the Atalanta striker had been training separately at Coverciano due to his condition.
Beyond Scamacca, Gattuso has opted to drop four more players from the initial roster. Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso, goalkeeper Elia Caprile, defender Diego Coppola, and winger Nicolò Cambiaghi will not feature in the upcoming match.
Notably, Cambiaghi had only joined the squad on Monday as a late replacement for Federico Chiesa.
With Matteo Politano expected to start as a right midfielder and Cambiaso’s exclusion, Atalanta-owned Marco Palestra, currently on loan at Cagliari, has been called up to provide depth on the right flank.
This marks the 21-year-old Palestra’s first senior international call-up, making him eligible to potentially make his debut for the Azzurri.
Official Italy Squad List for Northern Ireland Clash
Goalkeepers: Donnarumma (Manchester City), Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Meret (Napoli).
Defenders: Palestra (Cagliari), Dimarco (Inter), Spinazzola (Napoli), Buongiorno (Napoli), Calafiori (Arsenal), Gatti (Juventus), Scalvini (Atalanta), Bastoni (Inter), Mancini (Roma).
Midfielders: Locatelli (Juventus), Tonali (Newcastle United), Pisilli (Roma), Cristante (Roma), Frattesi (Inter), Barella (Inter).
Strikers: Retegui (Al-Qadsiah), Raspadori (Atalanta), Kean (Fiorentina), Esposito (Inter), Politano (Napoli).