Roberto Mancini's Strategic Squad Selection for Italy's Nations League
Roberto Mancini is back in charge of Italy, and he is not easing himself in.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the returning head coach is preparing to call up as many as 35 players for the upcoming international window, a swollen squad tailored to a brutal Nations League schedule: four matches in just 11 days.
Eight years on from his first appointment in May 2018, Mancini’s second spell with the Azzurri opens with familiar pressure and a demanding itinerary. Italy host Belgium in Rome on 25 September, then head out for back-to-back away games in Turkey and France before returning home to face Turkey again in Bologna. It is a run that leaves little room for error and even less for fatigue.
A broad net for a brutal schedule
The size of the preliminary group says everything about the challenge. Mancini needs depth, options, and fresh legs, so the door is swinging open for several new faces.
Uncapped prospects Romano, Zoma, and Samuel Inacio are all expected to be included. Doumbia and Ahanor are also in line for possible first calls. In goal, Bologna’s Pessina could join an established trio of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Carnesecchi, and Guglielmo Vicario, giving Italy a packed goalkeeping department for the congested run.
Romano’s recent form in midfield has pushed him into contention at a time when Italy’s central options are thin. Zoma, playing his club football in Germany, is viewed as a potential solution out wide in an attack that has long searched for genuine width.
The pressure finally told on selection conservatism: this window demands experimentation.
Old guard still at the core
Even with the influx of new names, the spine of the Euro 2020 triumph remains central to Mancini’s plans. Nicolò Barella, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Bryan Cristante, and Alessandro Bastoni are all expected to feature, anchoring the group with experience and continuity.
There could also be a blast from the past. Federico Bernardeschi, one of the heroes of that European title run, is under consideration for a surprise recall, as is midfielder Rolando Mandragora. Both would add know-how to a squad that risks becoming too experimental if Mancini leans too heavily on untested talent.
But the coach cannot call everyone.
Injuries have already stripped away several key pieces. Federico Chiesa, Nicolò Zaniolo, Manuel Locatelli, and Alessandro Buongiorno are all ruled out, forcing Mancini to redraw parts of his plan. Mateo Retegui, meanwhile, remains on holiday in Argentina, though he could still be summoned if the situation demands it.
Balancing the present with the future
Mancini’s rebuild has to respect another priority: Italy’s Under-21 side. A total revolution at senior level is on hold, at least for now.
To avoid weakening Bernardo Baldini’s squad ahead of crucial European qualifiers, leading youngsters Cher Ndour, Niccolo Pisilli, and Luca Koleosho will stay with the Under-21s. The message is clear: the senior team may be evolving, but not at the expense of a generation that needs competitive minutes, not bench time.
So Mancini walks a tightrope. He must refresh without raiding the future.
Nations League stakes and Euro implications
This is not a gentle reintroduction for the coach who once guided Italy to continental glory. The Azzurri are chasing a top-two finish in Nations League Group A, a target that would secure a place in the quarter-finals and restore some of the competitive edge dulled in recent years.
Squad rotation will not be a luxury. It will be a necessity. With four matches squeezed into less than a fortnight, almost every one of those 35 potential call-ups could matter.
And the consequences stretch beyond the Nations League table. The results in this window will help shape Italy’s seeding for the Euro 2028 qualification draw in Belfast, a detail that turns every fixture into a piece of a longer strategic puzzle.
Mancini returns to the Azzurri with a bloated list, a brutal calendar, and a familiar burden: can he knit old champions and new hopefuls into a side ready not just for the next 11 days, but for the next cycle of Italian football?
