Mancini's New Italy: Mohamed Ali Zoma's Azzurri Call-Up
Roberto Mancini is back in charge of Italy, and he may be about to make his first big statement.
With the first international break of the 2026-27 season looming, reports in Italy and Germany increasingly point in one direction: 1. FC Nürnberg winger Mohamed Ali Zoma is on the verge of his first Azzurri call-up for the upcoming Nations League fixtures.
Mancini’s new Italy, new ideas
Italy face a demanding two-week block of games against Belgium, Turkiye, France and Turkiye again in September and October, an unusually long international window that will double as Mancini’s second debut on the Azzurri bench after replacing Gennaro Gattuso earlier this summer.
The context is unforgiving. Italy are still reeling from a disastrous calendar year that ended with them missing out on the 2026 World Cup. The squad needs a jolt, and Mancini knows it. Changes are coming, and not just cosmetic ones.
This is expected to be a squad laced with risk and renewal: senior players under scrutiny, younger options pushed to the front, and a particular focus on dual-nationality talents who can still choose their international future. Italy cannot afford to lose any more of them.
That is where Zoma comes in.
Zoma’s rise: from Serie C to the Azzurri radar
At 22, Mohamed Ali Zoma has forced his way into the conversation the hard way. Born and raised in Merate, he is eligible for Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast through his parents, but it is Italy that has shaped his footballing education so far.
He came through at AlbinoLeffe, representing both the youth and senior sides of the Serie C club, far from the glamour of the top flight. Then came the leap. Last summer, Nürnberg moved decisively, paying €1.5m to take him to the 2. Bundesliga.
It already looks like a bargain.
Zoma exploded in his first season in Germany: 19 goal involvements in the league alone – 14 goals and five assists in 29 appearances. A winger with end product, not just promise. He has started the new campaign at full speed as well, scoring five goals in his first five league games of 2026-27.
Numbers like that don’t stay under the radar for long.
A €20m asset and a looming decision
His form has inevitably attracted attention. According to Sky Sport DE’s Florian Plettenberg, clubs circled towards the end of the summer transfer window, sensing an opportunity. Nürnberg’s answer was clear: hands off.
The German club are said to value Zoma at around €20m, a huge jump from the fee they paid only a year ago, and a sign of how central he has become to their project.
But the most important decision around Zoma right now is not domestic. It is international.
Mancini calls, Zoma listens
Zoma himself has already confirmed that the Italy coach has reached out. Speaking to Sky, he said: “It’s true, Roberto Mancini and I have spoken. He said that he is keeping an eye on me and that I should keep going like this, and then we’ll see.”
For a player in his position, “we’ll see” carries real weight. One call-up could define his international future. With Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast still open to him, Italy cannot simply assume he will wait forever.
Italian outlets sense that the moment is close. Tuttosport describes an Azzurri call-up as “increasingly close” for the Nürnberg winger, while TMW goes a step further and predicts he will be named in Mancini’s next squad.
If that happens, Zoma will walk into a camp that feels very different from the one Mancini left. Italy are no longer world champions in waiting or European standard-setters. They are a team trying to rebuild an identity, restore pride and secure the next generation before someone else does.
Zoma, with his pace, goals and options, sits right at the heart of that battle.
