Francesco Pio Esposito scores for Italy against Moldova in the 2026 World Cup qualifier (@azzurri)
Gennaro Gattuso has less than a week to go before he is expected to announce his Italy national team squad for the crucial World Cup play-offs at the end of March. Here is a look at five young hopefuls who could be included in the Azzurri side for the Northern Ireland match on the 26th of this month.
Italy are due to take on Northern Ireland in a one-legged World Cup play-off semi-final in Bergamo on March 26, and the winner of that tie will go on to face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away from home in a one-off decider for a spot at the final World Cup tournament on March 31.
Should Italy fail to win both matches, they will miss out on the World Cup for the third tournament cycle in a row. The Azzurri have not qualified for the group stages since 2014 and have not won a knock-out game at the World Cup since lifting the trophy in 2006.
Here are five youngsters who could be involved with the Italy side come the end of March.
Which Italy players could be involved for World Cup play-offs?
Marco Palestra
The 21-year-old Cagliari right-back, on loan from Atalanta, is not only an option for the future, but very much a valuable addition for the present as well.
Marco Palestra is enjoying a fantastic breakthrough season in Serie A and has been a mainstay in the Cagliari side, appearing in all 27 of his side’s league matches following his signing. In fact, he has only been taken off twice before full-time across his last 18 league outings.
The 21-year-old plays week in, week out at right wing-back, an area where Italy are fairly light, and is also capable of playing in a back four should Gattuso stick with the 4-4-2 that he utilised in November.
Michael Kayode
Italy’s shortage at right-back could be solved with the inclusion of another 21-year-old in Michael Kayode, who is having a brilliant season on an individual and collective level in the Premier League with Brentford.
Tipped for relegation by many at the beginning of the season, Kayode has been a crucial part of the Brentford side that currently sits in seventh place in the Premier League table and are pushing for an historic spot in Europe for next season.
Kayode’s long throw has also been causing chaos for various Premier League sides over the course of the 2025-26 campaign, and could offer Gattuso that direct option, particularly if he has a strong headerer of the ball, like a Pio Esposito, on the pitch.
Davide Bartesaghi
Though Italy have been somewhat short on options on the right flank, Federico Dimarco and Destiny Udogie have provided decent options on the left for the last few seasons, and now, Milan’s Davide Bartesaghi is looking like an enticing option for Gattuso as well.
Dimarco, tipped by some for the Serie A MVP award this season, is the expected starter at left back or left wing-back approaching Italy’s World Cup play-off campaign at the end of the month, but with Udogie still recovering from his latest hamstring injury, a spot in the squad for Bartesaghi is looking like an increasingly likely and deserved possibility.
Bartesaghi has carved out a place for himself as Milan’s go-to left wing-back, despite their signing of the experienced Pervis Estupinan, who had been expected to be the guaranteed starter for the Rossoneri at the beginning of the campaign.
And, should the unthinkable happen and Dimarco becomes available for whatever reason, Bartesaghi has more than proved himself a worthy understudy in 2025-26.
Niccolo Pisilli
Roma’s Niccolo Pisilli is now an expected call-up for the Italy squad heading into the World Cup play-offs at the end of March. 33-year-old Marco Verratti was rumoured to be in line for a return to the Azzurri set-up after a three-year absence, but he has not recovered from a knee injury and is now not expected to be involved this month.
That means that there is a high chance that Pisilli is called up to the midfield department instead.
The 21-year-old is unlikely to start ahead of the likes of Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Barella and Manuel Locatelli, but his increasingly prominent role under Gian Piero Gasperini at Roma should not go unnoticed.
Pio Esposito
The Inter ‘starboy’ is also expected to be included in Gattuso’s squad after earning a series of call-ups to the Italy side during the first half of the 2025-26 season.
The 20-year-old already has three goals for the Italy senior side from his first five caps, and despite the expected call-ups of Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui, there are arguments that the youngster should be starting for the national team, particularly if Gattuso plays two up front.
Esposito has also been handed an even more involved role with Inter in recent weeks, following the injury to Lautaro Martinez, and was trusted to lead the line in the recent Derby della Madonnina against rivals Milan. He has three goals and two assists to his name in Serie A since the start of the calendar year.