Mancini reshapes Italy squad for France and Belgium with eye on depth and youth
Eight new call-ups and 11 exits mark Roberto Mancini's latest 31-man Italy squad, with injuries forcing changes before a pivotal Nations League double-header against France and Belgium.
Roberto Mancini has trimmed his Italy squad from 34 to 31 players for this month's Nations League fixtures, dropping 11 names from September's camp and bringing in eight new faces, according to Football Italia.
Italy host France at San Siro on November 12 before travelling to face Belgium three days later. The Azzurri sit second in their Nations League group on seven points after four games, three behind leaders France, with Belgium a point further back in third and Turkiye without a point in last.
Why the table makes both fixtures carry weight
A group this tight means neither match against France nor Belgium is dead rubber. Italy cannot afford to fall further behind the leaders, and a result against Belgium would open daylight between the two sides chasing second. That context shapes why Mancini has prioritised fitness and readiness over simply retaining the same names from September, since a squad built for a dead campaign looks very different from one built to close a three-point gap.
The squad changes across defence and midfield
Giovanni Di Lorenzo's absence through injury is the most significant defensive blow, given his experience at right-back, and Mancini has compensated by recalling Marco Palestra, who has only recently returned from his own injury to make his first Premier League appearances for Chelsea. Palestra's versatility across the back line gives Mancini an option who can cover the width Di Lorenzo would otherwise provide, even without the same senior experience.
Diego Coppola and Eddy Kouadio also drop out, leaving a central defensive group built around Alessandro Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori, Giorgio Scalvini and Daniele Ghilardi. That is a profile of comfortable ball-players rather than pure stoppers, which suggests Mancini's back line is being shaped to play out from deep rather than defend in a purely reactive block, though the final shape will depend on how he pairs them against sides as different in approach as France and Belgium.
Samuele Ricci's recall is notable given he was omitted from the original September squad before being added only as cover when Bryan Cristante withdrew injured. His return now, alongside Niccolo Pisilli, gives Mancini two more candidates to rotate through a double pivot alongside established names such as Nicolo Barella, Davide Frattesi and Sandro Tonali. Having that many central midfielders available allows Mancini to adjust the balance of the pivot between France's more vertical approach and whatever shape Belgium present, rather than committing to one pairing for both games.
Cristante, Rolando Mandragora and Daniel Maldini are among those left out this time, along with Mohamed Ali Zoma, while injuries have also removed Giacomo Raspadori and Moise Kean from the attacking options Mancini can call upon.
The U21 pipeline and the teenage auditions
Several of the players omitted from this squad, including goalkeeper Massimo Pessina, defender Eddy Kouadio and striker Samuele Inacio, have gone back to the Under-21s, where Football Italia notes they are more likely to get regular minutes during the international break than they would sitting on Mancini's bench.
The inverse applies to two of the newest names. Riccardo Cassano, 17, and Simone Lontani, 18, join the senior group only to train and be assessed by Mancini before returning to the Under-18 and Under-19 squads later in the week. It is effectively a trial without a guarantee of involvement in the matches themselves, a mechanism that lets Mancini evaluate emerging talent up close without disrupting the players' actual development pathway at youth level.
Luca Koleosho, Alphadjo Cisse and Mattia Liberali complete the list of new additions, broadening Mancini's attacking and midfield options heading into a squad that otherwise leans on established Serie A and Premier League regulars.
Italy's immediate task is straightforward even if the opposition is not: beat France at San Siro to close the three-point gap at the top, then take points from Belgium away to protect second place in the group.