On Monday, Roberto Mancini picked his provisional Italy squad that will take place in the retreat at Coverciano after the conclusion of the Serie A campaign.
The list included 33 players, who will later be joined by Chelsea duo Jorginho and Emerson Palmieri who will be contending in the Champions League final on Saturday 29 against Manchester City.
Nonetheless, only 23 men will make it to the final squad that will participate in the Euro 2020, which means that the manager will have to cut down 12 players from the current 35.
So let’s try to find out who will make it and won’t.
Goalkeepers
Among the four goalkeepers chosen by Mancini, three will be a part of the Italy squad. The future of Gianluigi Donnarumma is far from certain, but we know for sure that the Milan man is easily the number one for the Azzurri.
Torino’s Salvatore Sirigu should offer an experienced backup, leaving Alex Meret and Alessio Cragno to contend for the final place. The Napoli man has shown signs of improvements lately, and could be the favorite to land a spot.
Center Backs
Mancini has picked six center backs in his provisional squad, but he’ll logically take only four of them to the Euros.
Captains Giorigio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci have their places booked – barring any injuries. On the other hand, Atalanta’s Rafael Toloi has barely featured for his adopted national team, and he’ll likely be dropped.
This leaves Francesco Acerbi, Gianluca Mancini and Alessandro Bastoni contending for two places within the Italy squad. The Roma man could win his place simply because he’s the lone right-footed player amongst the three.
Whilst Bastoni arguably deserves it more, the former Manchester City manager has relied on Acerbi several times during his stint, and it’s unlikely that he’ll drop him now.
Fullbacks
Again, Mancini has six players at his disposal in this department, and will have to cut them down to four – or possibly three, if he plans to call-up an additional striker instead of a fullback as others have done in the past.
On the right flank, Alessandro Florenzi is expected to get the nod alongside Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo. Although Manuel Lazzari is a wonderful wing-back, his characteristics might be less suitable for the Azzurri‘s 4-3-3 formation.
Emerson and Leonardo Spinazzola should be the favorites to be picked for the left-back spot, ahead of Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi.
Midfielders
In the middle of the park, Mancini will have to choose six players amongst the available nine.
Marco Verratti remains the country’s most talented midfielder, and everyone will be hoping that he recovers from his current injury in time to make the final squad – and the same goes for Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Additionally, Jorginho, Nicolò Barella and Manuel Locatelli are pretty much guaranteed a spot. This leaves one final place to be contested between Stefano Sensi, Gaetano Castrovilli, Marco Pessina and Bryan Cristante.
Despite not playing regularly for Inter, Sensi has featured for Italy on numerous occasions in the past, which makes him the favorite to be picked by Mancini.
Forwards
This might be the toughest one for the Azzurri tactician. Ten strikers have been picked for the provisional squad, but only six – or seven at most – will remain for Euro 2020.
Torino’s Andrea Belotti and Lazio’s Ciro Immobile should be the two center forwards picked for the final squad, with Sassuolo’s Giacomo Raspadori only being around to gain some experience before being cut from the list.
Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Chiesa and Lorenzo Insigne will definitely be the favorites to start on the wings, which leaves anther spot available.
Federico Bernardeschi has been doing well in the past for Mancini, but his under-par season with Juventus could see him losing his spot with Italy.
Vincenzo Grifo and Matteo Politano remain longshots, as Moise Kean’s talent and agility makes him the favorite for the role.
Conclusion
Our expected 23-man squad for Italy’s Euro 2020 campaign:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea/ENG)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Jorginho (Chelsea/ENG)
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)