Italy coach Roberto Mancini hasn’t called up Nicolò Zaniolo and Mattia Zaccagni for the next two matches, even though the Azzurri don’t exactly have a stacked frontline. The gaffer justified it by saying that he did it because of their busy schedules and imperfect conditions. However, there were ulterior and off-the-pitch reasons behind the choice.
As per La Repubblica, the boss has unofficially suspended the two players. They were part of the squad for the June matches against Argentina, Germany, Hungary, and England. But they quickly left Coverciano due to injury. While the Roma starlet was nursing a significant ankle problem, the issue of the Lazio attacker wasn’t serious according to their doctors.
Zaniolo is being disciplined by Mancini for some offensive chants against Zaccagni during the Giallorossi parade following the European Conference League triumph. He sang along when the fans poked fun at the crosstown adversary over gossip.
Instead, the Biancocelesti forward is out because didn’t play through his ailment the last time out. His club stated that he was suffering from a chronic problem afterward. The Italy coach and staff thought he could have gutted it out.
Mancini refused to select Zaniolo or Zaccagni even after Matteo Politano bowed out because of an ankle sprain. The coach enrolled Manolo Gabbiadini instead. He’s not a regular at Sampdoria yet due to a precedent ACL tear. Youngsters Willy Gnonto, Matteo Cancellieri, Alessio Zerbin, and the returning Vincenzo Grifo round out the Azzurri options on the wings for the two final Nations League games.
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