With an international break approaching, we get a chance to analyze the new Italy team which Prandelli is building. While he didn’t decide to call up Totti, he has included a player from the Lippi-days. Here’s the list of 23 players which Cesare Prandelli has called up:

Goalkeepers: Mirante, Sirigu, Viviano

Defenders: Cassani, Zambrotta, Bonucci, Bovo, Chiellini, Gastaldello, Antonelli, Criscito

Midfielders: De Rossi, Lazzari, Marchisio, Mauri, Palombo, Pirlo, Pepe

Forwards: Cassano, Gilardino, Pazzini, Borriello, Rossi

The first inclusion that I’d like to talk about is Zambrotta’s. While I don’t think he’s as bad as some of the other players which participated in the World Cup for Lippi, I still don’t think that he should be called up. And with Santon’s re-emergence for Inter Milan against Juventus (where he did well to contain Juventus and push forward), you’d think that the decision for the future would be the Inter player. So please share your thoughts on the decision to include Zambrotta.

An interesting choice which Prandelli will have to make is the one about the keepers. Which one do you start with? All three haven’t been truly outstanding recently, but none of them have had any bad games either. We’ll just have to wait and see who Prandelli decides to start with against Northern Ireland.

And the final question for me are the forwards, who will Prandelli start with here? While it seems obvious that all five will have some playing time, it’ll be interesting whether he’ll try the Cassano-Pazzini partnership, or maybe a front three with Giuseppe Rossi and Antionio Cassano behind Gilardino. I certainly hope that Rossi can find a way to shine, and force his way into the starting 11 for the second match against Serbia, but it looks like he’ll have some tough competition.

What are your thoughts on the Azzurri which Prandelli has called up? Share your thoughts below!