Roberto Mancini did not come back to Italy just to rewind the tape.
Barely weeks after returning to the Azzurri bench on a contract running to 2030, the coach has torn up the old script with a 34-man Nations League squad that screams reset rather than reunion. Established names remain, but the message is clear: nobody owns a shirt anymore.
A new cycle, at full speed
Italy face a brutal two-week block to open this new era: Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday, September 25, a trip to Türkiye on September 28, a marquee clash with Zinedine Zidane’s France in Paris on October 2, then back home to meet Türkiye again at the Stadio Dall’Ara on October 5.
Four games. Two opponents with genuine pedigree, one rising power, and no room to hide.
Mancini has chosen to confront that schedule with a squad heavy on fresh legs and new ideas. Nine players receive their first senior call-up, a bold injection of youth and curiosity into a group that had begun to look too familiar.
Nine debutants, one clear signal
In goal, Bologna’s Massimo Pessina steps into the national team picture for the first time, a reward for his rise at club level and a sign that the hierarchy between the posts is no longer fixed.
At the back, Roma defender Daniele Ghilardi and Brentford full-back Michael Kayode headline a defensive refresh. Both bring energy and athleticism, the sort of profile Mancini has often favoured in wide areas. They are joined by Monza defender Eddy Kouadio, another newcomer whose versatility will be tested quickly in a compressed schedule.
Midfield sees Cagliari’s Alessandro Romano called in, while Sporting CP prospect Issa Doumbia adds a modern, European-schooled edge to the engine room. Neither arrives with fanfare, but both enter a department that has historically defined Italy’s identity.
Up front, the change is even starker. Sassuolo striker Sebastiano Esposito, Napoli forward Antonio Vergara and Nürnberg’s Mohamed Ali Zoma are all drafted in to sharpen an attack that has too often lacked variety and ruthlessness. Different leagues, different profiles, one shared opportunity.
These are not cosmetic additions. They are a statement that reputations alone will not carry Italy into the next cycle.
Trust retained in emerging core
Mancini has not abandoned continuity entirely. Crystal Palace defender Honest Ahanor and Borussia Dortmund forward Samuele Inacio keep their places after recent friendlies, a sign that the coach sees them as part of the medium-term spine.
Both have already had a taste of the international tempo. Now comes the real examination, with Nations League points on the line and competition for minutes intensifying around them.
Big returns and one notable absentee
Alongside the new blood, the squad list also marks a reopening of doors that had seemed quietly closed.
Fiorentina midfielder Nicolò Fagioli and Udinese attacker Nicolò Zaniolo are both recalled after long absences, having not worn the Azzurri shirt since October 2024. Their talent has never been in doubt; their availability and consistency have. Mancini, though, has decided this is the moment to reinsert two players capable of tilting games with a single action.
The real surprise comes with Rolando Mandragora. The Torino midfielder returns to the national setup for the first time since March 2021, a gap that underlines just how far back he had fallen in the pecking order. His recall hints at Mancini’s desire for balance: alongside the exuberance of debutants, a player who knows the rhythms and demands of international football.
At the other end of the spectrum sits Marco Palestra. The Chelsea defender, long tipped as a pillar of Italy’s future back line, misses out as expected. An ongoing injury and a lack of minutes this season have left him sidelined, a reminder that even the brightest prospects must be fit to be trusted.
Coverciano, then the real thing
The squad will assemble at Coverciano on Monday, September 21, where Mancini and his staff will have just days to blend newcomers, returnees and regulars into something coherent.
From there, the calendar offers no gentle introduction. Belgium in Rome will set the tone, a first glimpse of how adventurous Mancini is prepared to be from the outset. Then comes the double-header with Vincenzo Montella’s Türkiye, split around that glamour trip to face France and Zidane.
Four matches to test depth, character and ideas. Four matches to see whether this mix of debutants, rediscovered talents and trusted names can carry Italy into a new phase with conviction.
Mancini has shown his hand. Now the question hangs over this group: who will seize this opening chapter of Italy’s next era, and who will watch the future race past from the sidelines?
