Italy Announce Squad For Football World Cup Qualifiers

Italy coach Roberto Mancini recalled all the fit players from his European Championship-winning squad while Nicolò Zaniolo returned from a lengthy injury layoff. (More Football News)

Mancini named 34 players in his squad for World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria, Switzerland and Lithuania, with the injured Leonardo Spinazzola the only absentee from the 26-player squad that beat England in the Euro 2020 final in July.

Roma midfielder Zaniolo is back after recovering from the injury he suffered against the Netherlands in the Nations League last September, while Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca earned his first call-up to the senior squad.

Italy plays Bulgaria in Florence on Sept. 2, faces Switzerland in Basel three days later, before hosting Lithuania in Reggio Emilia on Sept. 8.

Italy is bidding to tie the record for 35 consecutive games unbeaten.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Pierluigi Gollini (Tottenham), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa)

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lyon), Alessandro Florenzi (AC Milan), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta)

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan), Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Stefano Sensi (Inter Milan), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma)

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Everton), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo).

(AP)