Sandro Tonali is ready to play for Italy in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Israel after recovering from a shoulder injury. He has been selected for Gennaro Gattuso’s first Azzurri squad.
Tonali was uncertain for the Group I matches following an injury he sustained in Newcastle United’s 3-2 loss to Liverpool last weekend.
The 25-year-old is one of the 28 players picked by Gattuso, who took over from Luciano Spalletti in June with the task of leading Italy to its first World Cup since 2014.
Gianluca Scamacca returns to the squad following Italy’s disappointing Euro 2024 campaign. The Atalanta striker made a successful comeback from a long-term knee injury last weekend.
Also joining the squad are promising young defender Giovanni Leoni, who recently signed with Liverpool, Bologna midfielder Giovanni Fabbian, and Inter Milan forward Francesco Pio Esposito.
Italy faces the potential of missing a third consecutive World Cup after a rocky start to the qualifying campaign, leaving them nine points behind Group I leader Norway.
Gattuso faces a challenging task, as only the top team in the group automatically qualifies for the finals in the USA, Canada, and Mexico next year. Italy has played two fewer games than Norway.
In addition to the points deficit, Italy has a goal difference that is 12 goals worse than Norway, who defeated Italy 3-0 in June.
This situation puts Italy in a position where they may have to rely on the playoffs to qualify, a stage they failed to reach for the last two tournaments.
Italy will play Estonia in Bergamo next Friday and then travel to Debrecen, Hungary, to face Israel the following Monday.
RESULTS
Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham).
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Atalanta), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Giovanni Leoni (Liverpool), Gianluca Mancini (Roma).
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Giovanni Fabbian (Bologna), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Nicolo Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United).
Forwards: Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter Milan), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Daniel Maldini (Atalanta), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Atletico Madrid), Mateo Retegui (Al-Qadsiah), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
Published on Aug 29, 2025