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Lazio striker Ciro Immobile, and Juventus midfielder Maneul Locatelli were amongst the major absentees as Italy announced their 30-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 and their scheduled friendlies. Apart from the major snubs, 4 more players are set to be trimmed from the squad on the basis of their performance in the two friendlies against Turkiye on June 5, and Bosnia and Herzegovnia on June 10. Having been an integral part of the Italy squad that went on to win the previous edition of Euro, the omission of their former skipper Immobile and Locatelli left a lot of football fans shocked.
Taking over the role from Italy’s Euro 2020 winning manager Roberto Mancini, the upcoming edition of the competition will be Luciano Spalletti’s first major tournament in charge of the Azzuri. Upon his arrival on the national side in August 2023, Spalletti had planned a new project for the side in an effort to bring the side back to winning ways after missing two back-to-back FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022.
Despite being a key figure at the heart of the Juventus midfield, Spaletti has left out Locatelli from his plans for a reborn Azurri side. On the other hand, Immobile’s lack of clinical approach in front of the goal this season has seen him miss out on his national team place. The 34-year-old has only managed to score 7 times in his 30 Serie A appearances, and has only 3 goals from Lazio’s UEFA Champions League campaign.
Italy preliminary squad: Full
Spaletti has gone with four goalkeeping options in his preliminary squad, with Gianluigi Donnarumma leaing the lineup alongside Alex Meret, Ivan Provedel and Guglielmo Vicario. The Azzuri backline includes the likes of Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni and Metteo Darmian, with Andrea Cambiaso getting his maiden call up for the tournament. Their midfield has also seen Nicol² Fagioli finding his way back into the squad, alongside Nicollo Barella and Jorginho.
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alex Meret, Ivan Provedel, Guglielmo Vicario
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, Raoul Bellanova, Alessandro Buongiorno, Riccardo Calafiori, Andrea Cambiaso, Matteo Darmian, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Federico Dimarco, Gianluca Mancini, Giorgio Scalvini
Midfielders: Nicol² Barella, Bryan Cristante, Nicol² Fagioli, Michael Folorunsho, Davide Frattesi, Jorginho, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Samuele Ricci
Forwards: Federico Chiesa, Stephan El Shaarawy, Riccardo Orsolini, Giacomo Raspadori, Mateo Retegui, Gianluca Scamacca, Mattia Zaccagni
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