Roberto Mancini Prepares Jumbo Squad for Italy's Nations League Matches

Roberto Mancini is back in charge of Italy, and he is not easing himself in.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the returning head coach is preparing a jumbo squad of up to 35 players for the upcoming international window, a list as long as the schedule is brutal. Over eight years after his first appointment in May 2018, Mancini’s second Azzurri chapter opens with four Nations League matches crammed into just 11 days.

A packed September, a swollen squad

Italy’s run begins in Rome on 25 September against Belgium, a heavyweight fixture to relaunch the Mancini era in front of home fans. Then the travelling starts: an away trip to Turkey, a visit to France, and finally a return home to Bologna, where Italy will host Turkey again.

Four games. Eleven days. Little recovery time. No room for a thin squad.

That is why the call-up list is expected to stretch to 35 names, giving Mancini room to rotate heavily as Italy chase a top-two finish in Nations League Group A and a place in the quarter-finals. Those results will also feed directly into the Euro 2028 qualification draw in Belfast, raising the stakes even higher.

New faces on the radar

The size of the squad opens the door to a wave of fresh faces. Among the likely surprise inclusions are uncapped prospects Romano, Zoma, and Samuel Inacio, with Doumbia and Ahanor also in the frame.

Romano, a midfielder, has forced his way into the discussion with a strong run of form at club level. With Italy short of convincing options in central areas, his timing could not be better. Zoma, based in Germany, is being lined up to inject width into an attacking department that has too often felt narrow and predictable. Samuel Inacio’s name on the list underlines Mancini’s willingness to experiment across the pitch, not just in one area.

In goal, Bologna’s Pessina could be rewarded with a place alongside established options Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Carnesecchi, and Guglielmo Vicario. It would be a significant step for Pessina, and another sign that no position is closed to competition.

Euro 2020 core still standing

Mancini may be casting the net wide, but he is not tearing everything up. Several pillars from Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph remain central to his plans.

Nicolò Barella, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Bryan Cristante, and Alessandro Bastoni are all expected to feature, the backbone of a group that knows how to navigate high-pressure international football. There could also be a twist of nostalgia: Federico Bernardeschi, a key figure in that Euros run, is under consideration for a surprise recall, as is midfielder Rolando Mandragora.

This is not a revolution. It is a recalibration.

Injuries bite, and one eye on the future

The optimism is tempered by a harsh injury list. Federico Chiesa, Nicolò Zaniolo, Manuel Locatelli, and Alessandro Buongiorno are all ruled out, stripping Italy of creativity, physicality, and defensive depth in one hit.

Mateo Retegui remains on holiday in Argentina, but his situation is being monitored. If Mancini feels he needs another option up front, Retegui could still be summoned.

Even with the expanded squad, Mancini has chosen not to raid the Under-21s. Keen to avoid weakening Bernardo Baldini’s side ahead of crucial European qualifiers, he has held back from a full-scale overhaul. Talents such as Cher Ndour, Niccolo Pisilli, and Luca Koleosho will stay with the Under-21 squad, a clear signal that Italy’s rebuild will be staged, not rushed.

Rotation or ruin

With four games in less than two weeks, squad rotation is not a luxury; it is the plan. Mancini will have to juggle minutes, manage fatigue, and still find a coherent identity on the pitch as Italy push for the Nations League quarter-finals and protect their Euro 2028 seeding.

His second spell starts with a marathon squeezed into a sprint. The names on this 35-man list will tell a story: who he still trusts, who he wants to test, and who might carry Italy into the next cycle.