Rome (AFP) – Italy coach Roberto Mancini on Monday named a 33-man squad for a pre-Euro 2020 friendly with San Marino after signing a new deal with the national team that runs until June 2026.
The ‘Azzurri’ face San Marino on May 28 in the Sardinian city of Cagliari in one of their final two tests before kicking off the European Championship against Turkey in Rome on June 11.
They will then face the Czech Republic in Bologna on June 4, by which time Mancini will have named his 26-man squad for the continent-wide tournament.
Mancini gave Sassuolo forward Giacomo Raspadori his first senior call-up, while Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti has been selected despite picking up a knee injury that could yet rule him out of the Euro.
Veteran Juventus defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are also included.
Former Italy forward Mancini’s new deal will keep him as coach until after the 2026 World Cup, being held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
He took over in May 2018 and was charged with helping his country forget the humilation of failing to qualify for that year’s World Cup.
Mancini, 56, has led Italy to qualification for Euro 2020 and the Nations League semi-finals, and has also claimed three wins from as many 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
He coached Italy to 11 straight wins in 2019, breaking a record that had stood since the 1930s.
“I’m very happy… we want to continue a job that has started to bear fruit. In the next year we will have the Euro, the Nations League finals and the World Cup,” said Mancini.
“The goal is to win knowing that it won’t be easy and that we will need a bit of luck.”
Italy squad to face San Marino on May 28:
Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter), Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg/GER), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo).
