Manuel Locatelli forced to leave Italy's training camp
The national soccer team coached by Luciano Spalletti will not be able to count on Manuel Locatelli for the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Norway (Friday, June 6 away) and Moldova (Monday, June 9 at home). The Juventus midfielder has in fact decided, together with the Azzurri medical staff, to return home to treat the right ankle sprain suffered in Sunday’s training.
The decision was confirmed late in the afternoon, after the 1998-born player had undergone medical examinations to preliminarily assess the’extent of the injury. It is therefore the third name that Luciano Spalletti is forced to remove from the list of summoned players, after that of Alessandro Buongiorno (replaced by Luca Ranieri) and that of Francesco Acerbi, by personal choice of the interista.
The national team will face Norway in Oslo, at the Ullevaal Stadion, on Friday at 8:45 p.m. The Norwegians, who have missed the World Cup since 1998, won their first two qualifying matches against Moldova 5-0 and Israel 4-2. It is precisely the Moldovans who will be Italy’s second opponents on Monday at the Mapei Stadium-Città del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia, also at 8:45 p.m.: after the drubbing against Haaland and co., the national team from the former Soviet republic lost at home to Estonia, 3-2.
Italy is still at zero games played in Group I because, while the first two days were going on, the Azzurri were engaged in the Nations League quarterfinals against Germany. Spalletti’s men’s goal is to get into gear right away, to avoid further bitter surprises and regain a qualification they have been sending since the 2014 edition of the rainbow tournament.
