in a surprise decision, Italian national team manager Roberto Mancini has left Roma central defender Gianluca Mancini off of his Euro 2020 squad.
The former Inter boss unveiled his final 26-man squad late this evening on the primetime television special ‘Notte Azzurra’ on Rai 1. With the Azzurri’s first match versus Switzerland less than ten days away, Mancini was forced to make his final cuts today.
The 25 year-old Mancini was battling head-to-head with Atalanta’s Rafael Toloi for the final central defender spot in the team ― though, he was considered the favorite. However, his exclusion from the Azzurri squad was just the first of shock choices that Mancini announced during the special.
In another twist, it was announced that Sassuolo attacker Giacomo Raspadori and Inter midfielder Stefano Sensi, who was a major question mark given his lack of fitness, were both included in the squad.
Unsurprisingly, Roma trio Lorenzo Pellegrini, Bryan Cristante, and Leonardo Spinazzola were all included in the Azzurri’s final squad.
Goalkeepers: 21 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), 26 Alex Meret (Napoli), 1 Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)
Defenders: 15 Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), 23 Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), 19 Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), 3 Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), 2 Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), 13 Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), 24 Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint Germain), 4 Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), 25 Rafael Toloi (Atalanta)
Midfielders: 18 Nicolò Barella (Inter), 16 Bryan Cristante (Roma), 8 Frello Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Chelsea), 5 Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), 7 Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), 12 Stefano Sensi (Inter), 6 Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain)
Attackers: 9 Andrea Belotti (Torino), 11 Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), 20 Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), 14 Federico Chiesa (Juventus), 17 Ciro Immobile (Lazio), 10 Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), 22 Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo)
