EURO 2020: Italy Announce 26-Man Squad, Injured Verratti Included, Politano Left Out
Coach Roberto Mancini unveiled his 26-man squad at the midnight June 1 deadline set by UEFA ahead of the 11 June to 11 July tournament.
The surprise inclusion is Sassuolo forward Giacomo Raspadori, 21, who has not yet played for the senior national side, has scored six goals in 28 games this season. The centre-forward would provide an attacking option alongside Ciro Immobile and Andrea Belotti.
#Azzurri 🇮🇹
📣 The 26 players called-up for #EURO2020 by Coach Roberto #Mancini 🇪🇺#Euros #Italy #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/T2h6CiIrND
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@azzurri) June 1, 2021
Verratti suffered knee ligament damage last month while playing for Paris Saint-Germain, estimating that six weeks’ recovery could be needed, which would rule the 28-year-old out of the group matches, but he somehow made the cut. Sensi suffered a thigh muscle problem on the final day of the season while playing for Serie A champions Inter Milan.
Veteran Juventus defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are also included, with Atalanta’s Rafael Toloi preferred to Roma’s Gianluca Mancini. Atalanta midfielder Matteo Pessina and Napoli winger Matteo Politano were both left out. The services of key men, Chiellini and Bonucci will be important to lead the team.
After failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the Azzurri are looking for redemption in a tournament they won back in 1968. In the last 20 years, Italy have reached the final twice and ended runners-up on both occasions. Ciro Immobile has been the top scorer among the Italians in the league with 20 goals and like every time he’ll be the team’s target man.
They kick off on June 11 against Turkey in Group A in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, where they will also play Switzerland and Wales.
Written by: Debayan Bhattacharyya