UEFA threatened to take action in the form of banning clubs and players participating in the Super League. How would Italy cope without the banned players?
Ahead of Euro 2020 and during the World Cup Qualifiers for Qatar 2022, Italy rely on 10 players from four of the founding clubs of the Super League.
CT Roberto Mancini called up nine of them for the World Cup qualifiers in March, when Chelsea midfielder Jorginho was absent.
UEFA threatened to take action in the form of banning clubs and players participating in the Super League. How would Italy cope without the banned players?
Ahead of Euro 2020 and during the World Cup Qualifiers for Qatar 2022, Italy rely on 10 players from four of the founding clubs of the Super League.
CT Roberto Mancini called up nine of them for the World Cup qualifiers in March, when Chelsea midfielder Jorginho was absent.
Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was the only player from the Rossoneri in the squad during the last international break, but he also started all the three games in the qualifier.
The young goalkeeper is the first choice in goal, ahead of Cagliari’s Alessio Cragno, Napoli’s Alex Meret and Torino shot stopper Salvatore Sirigu.
League leaders Inter also announced they are one of the founding clubs for the Super League, meaning Italy could have to cope without Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella and Stefano Sensi in the future.
Juventus had four players in the last Italy squad, with the defensive duo Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini providing experience and balance among a host of young players in Mancini’s squad.
Federico Bernardeschi and Federico Chiesa are the other two players from the Bianconeri, whilst Chelsea full-back Emerson Palmieri and Brazilian-born midfielder Jorginho are the only two players who play for one of the foreign founding clubs.
Six of those players were involved in the 2-0 wins over Northern Ireland and Bulgaria, whilst seven of them played in the 2-0 win over Lithuania.
Italy squad without the potentially banned players:
Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Gian Marco Ferrari (Sassuolo), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint Germain), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta)
Midfielders: Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Matteo Ricci (Spezia), Roberto Soriano (Bologna), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain)
Attackers: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Vincenzo Grifo (Friburgo), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Paris Saint Germain)