Five players dropped from latest Italy squad including Calafiori and Politano – Football Italia

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 20: Riccardo Calafiori of Italy goes down with an injury during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal leg one match between Italy and Germany at Stadio San Siro on March 20, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Luciano Spalletti has dropped five players from his latest Italy national team squad, including Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori and 2024-25 Scudetto winner Matteo Politano of Napoli. 

Spalletti confirmed his squad of 27 players for Italy’s first 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Monday. The Azzurri will take on Norway in Oslo on June 6 and will then be at home against Moldova on June 9. 

There is no Calafiori in the latest Italy squad. The former Bologna centre-back was also not included in Arsenal’s matchday squad for their final match of the 2024-25 Premier League season against Southampton on Sunday. 

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta insists that there is no new injury concern for Calafiori, but that he ‘needed a rest’ after his latest injury comeback. 

“We pushed Ricci a lot to make sure that he was fit for the last few games and he was two, three weeks ahead of schedule in his injury,” Arteta said, reported via the Evening Standard.

As well as Calafiori, there are four other players who have been dropped from the latest Italy national team squad. 

Napoli’s Politano, Fiorentina’s Pietro Comuzzo, Atalanta’s Matteo Ruggeri and Lazio’s Mattia Zaccagni were all included in the squad for the Nations League quarter-finals against Germany in March, but have been left out for the World Cup qualifiers in June. 

Meanwhile, there are returns to the squad for 37-year-old Inter defender Francesco Acerbi, Nerazzurri wing-back Federico Dimarco, Milan’s Matteo Gabbia, Atalanta’s Davide Zappacosta. Juve’s Manuel Locatelli and Bologna’s Riccardo Orsolini. 

There is also a first call-up for 21-year-old Hellas Verona centre-back Diego Coppola. 

Confirmed Italy squad for June World Cup qualifiers 

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Inter), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Diego Coppola (Hellas Verona), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham), Davide Zappacosta (Atalanta);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Cesare Casadei (Torino), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Nicolò Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);

Forwards: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Lucca (Udinese), Daniel Maldini (Atalanta), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta).