Italy: The 23-man roster for Belgium has been announced—and there are plenty of surprises among those left off the list

With just a few hours to go before kickoff for Italy vs. Belgium, the Azzurri’s opening match of the 2026–2027 Nations League, head coach Roberto Mancini has selected the 23 players to be included on the roster, thereby excluding 11 since a total of 34 players were called up. The available players will consist of three goalkeepers, seven defenders, seven midfielders, and six forwards.

All three goalkeepers—Donnarumma, Carnesecchi, and Vicario—will be on the roster, while the selected defenders are Kayode, Ahanor, Calafiori, Coppola, Scalvini, Di Lorenzo, and Mancini. For the midfield, Mancini has selected Romano, Mandragora, Tonali, Doumbia, Zoma, Frattesi, and Barella, while the attack will feature Pio Esposito, Kean, Raspadori, Scamacca, Maldini, and Cambiaghi.

Those left off the roster include Bastoni—who must serve a suspension following his red card in Zenica—as well as Pessina, Ghilardi, Kouadio, Ruggeri, Ricci, Fagioli, Inacio, Vergara, Zaniolo, and Sebastiano Esposito. These eleven players will therefore have to wait for the next match—on Monday, September 28, in Turkey—to hope to take the field or at least sit on the bench rather than in the stands.

Roberto Mancini’s decision to call up so many players is driven not only by the packed schedule of the international window (which will conclude on October 5 at home against Turkey after facing France on the road three days earlier), but also with the need to broaden the pool of players for the national team, in an attempt to somehow revive a program that, after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time, has hit one of its lowest points.