Barella returns to Italy Nations League squad, Calafiori ruled out

Luciano Spalletti has made several changes to his Italy squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures against Belgium and France.

Italy are currently top of Group A2 by a point after four games, and know a win against Belgium next week will secure their place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Spalletti was able to name Inter’s Nicolo Barella back to his ranks after the midfielder missed the Azzurri’s October encounters after undergoing nose surgery.

Only Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Darmian (both 38) and Marcus Thuram (57) have won more duels than Barella (35) for Inter in Serie A this season.

However, the Italians will be without defensive duo Riccardo Calafiori and Matteo Gabbia, with the former picking up a knee issue in Arsenal’s Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Here we go

Luciano Spalletti’s latest squad #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/9lrcYuZVuA

— Italy (@Azzurri_En) November 8, 2024

Spalletti also did not include Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, who was sent off in the 2-2 draw with Belgium last month, or Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli.

Fiorentina’s Pietro Comuzzo, Juventus’ Nicolo Savona and Lazio’s Nicolo Rovella all come into the squad, receiving their first senior call-ups.

Rovella has been particularly impressive in the Italian top-flight this season.

Only Matteo Guendouzi (477) has completed more passes for Lazio in Serie A than Rovella, though the 22-year-old boasts a pass accuracy of 93.1% compared to the Frenchman’s 88.99%.

Italy travel to the Stade Roi Baudouin on November 14 to face Belgium, before welcoming France to the San Siro three days later.

Italy squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma, (Paris Saint-Germain), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham), Alex Meret (Napoli); Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Caleb Okoli (Leicester City), Nicolo Savona (Juventus), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham); Nicolo Barella (Inter), Davide Frattesi (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Nicolo Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle); Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Daniel Maldini (Monza), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta).