Euro 2024: Defending champion Italy announces provisional 30-member squad

Italy, who defeated England in the Euro 2020 final three years ago, is in Group B with Croatia, Spain and Albania.

Published : May 23, 2024 19:10 IST , MILAN - 2 MINS READ

FILE PHOTO: Italy had won the previous edition of the European Championship, beating England in a penalty shootout in the 2021 final at Wembley Stadium in London
FILE PHOTO: Italy had won the previous edition of the European Championship, beating England in a penalty shootout in the 2021 final at Wembley Stadium in London | Photo Credit: REUTERS
infoIcon

FILE PHOTO: Italy had won the previous edition of the European Championship, beating England in a penalty shootout in the 2021 final at Wembley Stadium in London | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Gianluca Scamacca has played his way into Italy’s plans for Euro 2024 after a phenomenal end to the season, as coach Luciano Spalletti announced on Thursday his provisional squad for Germany.

Striker Scamacca was picked by Spalletti after scoring 11 goals and setting up four more in all competitions since the start of March, helping fire Atalanta to their historic Europa League triumph on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old had been dropped for Italy’s March friendlies with Venezuela and Ecuador by Spalletti who railed against footballers “playing on the PlayStation until four in the morning”, a comment widely interpreted as being directed at Scamacca.

READ | EURO 2024 full squads: Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal squad, no Rashford in England provisional side

Spalletti has selected the in-form Scamacca in an attempt to resolve Italy’s long-standing problem of finding reliable strikers.

Inconsistent Ciro Immobile -- one of the pivotal figures in Italy’s Euro triumph three years ago -- has been dropped.

Should Scamacca lead the line for Italy he will play alongside Juventus star Federico Chiesa, whose teammate Nicolo Fagioli is a surprise inclusion among the midfielders after missing almost the entire season.

Fagioli made his first Juve appearance since October on Monday following his seven-month ban for gambling on football matches.

The betting scandal cost Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali his place on the plane for the Euro, which starts on June 14.

Fagioli is one of a number of younger players who have replaced the old guard from the last Euro victory, including Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti who has never been called up by Spalletti since he replaced Roberto Mancini as coach last summer.

On June 6, Spalletti will announce his final squad which will face Spain, Croatia and Albania in Group B.

Italy plays Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina in pre-tournament friendlies early next month.

Italy’s provisional squad for Euro 2024
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham/ENG)
Defenders
Francesco Acerbi (Inter Milan), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta)
Midfielders
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal/ENG), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino)
Forwards
Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment