Italy coach Luciano Spalletti has picked two new faces in his squad announced on Friday for the upcoming Nations League quarterfinal with Germany.
Atalanta defender Matteo Ruggeri, one of the stars of his team’s Europa League triumph last season, and Torino youngster Cesare Casadei are among the 25 players jostling for a place in Italy’s two matches with the Germans next week.
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Italy hosts Germany at the San Siro on Thursday before travelling to Dortmund for the second leg which will be played on March 23.
The winner of this tie will host the Nations League finals in June, with Italy opting for Turin should it get through.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham)
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal/ENG), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham/ENG)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Cesare Casadei (Torino), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Nicolo Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle/ENG)
Forwards: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Lucca (Udinese), Daniel Maldini (Atalanta), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)