Roberto Mancini's Bold Italy Squad Selection
Roberto Mancini’s first Italy squad has landed with a jolt, mixing fresh faces, long-awaited recalls and one controversial inclusion, while a Chelsea prospect is left watching from home.
Maldini in, Palestra out
Daniel Maldini makes the list, and that alone will spark debate. The forward is called up despite the recent car incident that saw his driving licence suspended after testing just over the legal alcohol limit. Early reports suggested he had also failed a drugs test; those claims were later disproved, with all toxicology results coming back negative.
His club Cagliari have thrown their weight behind him and intend to start him in Serie A this weekend. Now Mancini has done the same on the international stage.
Marco Palestra, on the other hand, misses out. The Chelsea man had been tipped to be excluded, with his case weakened by an untimely injury in pre-season and the fact he is still waiting for his competitive debut with the Premier League side. In a squad packed with talking points, his absence feels ruthless but hardly shocking.
New era, familiar names
Italy face a demanding Nations League run during this international window: Belgium on September 25, Turkiye on September 28, France on October 2, and a second clash with Turkiye on October 5. The group then wraps up with France on November 12 and Belgium on November 15. Mancini has responded with a bold mix, calling up nine new players and reopening the door to several who had drifted out of the picture.
Two of those returning are Nicolò Fagioli and Nicolò Zaniolo, neither of whom had featured since October 2024. Fagioli, now at Fiorentina, already has seven senior caps and returns as a technically gifted option in midfield.
Zaniolo’s story with the Azzurri has always carried a sense of drama. Mancini first summoned him before he had even played a single Serie A match, a statement of faith that set the tone for his early international career. He now sits on 19 caps, the latest coming in a friendly against Ecuador in March 2024. His last competitive appearance, though, dates back to November 2023 against Ukraine. This call feels like another chance to reset a stop-start journey with the national team.
Mandragora’s long road back
The most eye-catching comeback belongs to Rolando Mandragora. The Torino midfielder returns to the squad for the first time since March 2021, ending a spell of more than five years in the international wilderness.
Mandragora, now 29, has just one senior cap to his name, earned in June 2018 in a 3-1 friendly defeat to France. That solitary appearance once looked like a footnote. Now it might be the prologue.
Mancini’s list is not just a squad sheet; it is a statement. Some reputations are being rebuilt, others are put on hold, and a few careers might be about to change direction entirely over the next two months of Nations League football.
