The biggest contingent comes from the Premier League, with captain Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Matteo Ruggeri (Aston Villa), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace) and Sandro Tonali (Tottenham) all included in the squad. Issa Doumbia, a former Venezia midfielder, plays for Sporting CP in Portugal, while Diego Coppola is under contract with Ligue 1 side Paris FC. Samuele Inacio and Mohamed Ali Zoma come from Germany and play for Borussia Dortmund and Nuremberg (second division), respectively.
Mancini has been trying to identify suitable players with dual citizenship who suit his style of play. This is evident in his call-up of Zoma, a 22-year-old winger born in Merate, Italy, whose mother is from Côte d'Ivoire. Zoma is currently playing in the 2.Bundesliga, but Mancini believes he has the technical abilities to become an important player for Italy.
Liverpool's Giovanni Leoni and Chelsea's Marco Palestra are among those Mancini has monitored, and the same is true of Fabio Chiarodia (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Luca Reggiani and Filippo Mané (Borussia Dortmund), and Luca Koleosho (Paris FC). Chiarodia, Reggiani and Koleosho have been called up to the Italy U21 squad for this international break, while Leoni and Palestra are recovering from injuries.
Mancini gave Argentine-born Mateo Retegui his Italy debut in 2023, and this time he's called up Zoma. The Italian coach believes that players like Zoma or the others who have dual passports and could have been lost are the solution to Italy's need for technical abilities.
The upcoming Nations League games against Belgium, France, and Turkey will be a test for Mancini's Italy squad, and it will be interesting to see how the players from outside Serie A perform.