It won’t be long before Italy boss Gennaro Gattuso issues his call-ups for World Cup playoffs against Northern Ireland and then potentially Wales or Bosnia. The coach has sent his pre-selections to a few players abroad, for instance, Marco Verratti and Federico Chiesa, TuttoSport informs (via 90min).
They haven’t represented the national team since 2023. The midfielder is in his third season in Qatar and would serve as a backup ‘regista.’ The ex-Milan and Napoli boss could also welcome back the Liverpool winger. He elected not to be involved in previous matches to work on his conditioning after a few injuries and try to earn more playing time.
If they don’t back out, Verratti and Chiesa will be evaluated by the Italy staff during the training sessions at Coverciano to determine whether they’ll indeed be options during the matches. Gattuso is putting together a mix of youth and experience as far as the new additions to the group are concerned.
According to Sky, Marco Palestra and Antonio Vergara will draw their maiden call-up thanks to their convincing performances at Cagliari and Napoli. Niccolò Pisilli is also likely to make the squad. Nicolò Zaniolo and Domenico Berardi are on the outside looking in for now. However, they will have their chances if they have a strong March.
Our Take on Italy
It’s only right to onboard as much talent as possible and then assess where they are at physically first-hand. The season has been pretty good for possible Azzurri newcomers. The players seem to have faith in Gattuso, given several remarks. Needless to say, missing out again, especially after a sound draw, would be an unmitigated disaster.
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