Gattuso cuts four players from Italy squad ahead of Estonia in World Cup qualifying – Football Italia

BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy during the National anthems prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

Gennaro Gattuso will have to leave four of his Italy national team players out of his matchday squad to face Estonia in World Cup qualification on Saturday evening, and the morning’s reports suggest that those players will come from Fiorentina, Napoli and Brighton. 

The Azzurri will take on Estonia in Tallinn on Saturday evening, which will be Gattusso’s third match in charge of his nation, and Italy’s fifth match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. 

Italy beat Estonia 5-0 when the two sides met in Bergamo back in September, and will be hoping to do the double over Jürgen Henn’s side when they meet again on Saturday evening. 

Italy sit second in Group I as things stand, with nine points from their first four matches, but are left requiring Norway to drop points if they wish to finish at the top of the group, which would mean automatic qualification to the final tournament. Second place will be enough for a spot in the play-off rounds. 

Which players will Gattuso drop for Estonia vs. Italy? 

Gattuso called up a squad of 27 players for the October World Cup qualifiers. He will, however, have to trim that list down to a matchday squad of 23 for the Estonia clash. 

According to updates from TMW, the four players expected to be dropped by Gattuso on Saturday are back-up goalkeeper Alex Meret from Napoli, centre-back Diego Coppola from Brighton, and Fiorentina duo Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Roberto Piccoli. 

Meret has been a regular in recent Italy squads, but has not had an opportunity to play for his nation since 2022. 

Coppola has earned two caps for the Azzurri previously, but has been out of favour since joining Brighton from Hellas Verona over the summer, and has only played for 16 minutes in the Premier League so far this season. 

Fiorentina duo Nicolussi Caviglia and Piccoli were both called up for the first time this month. The midfielder was included in Gattuso’s original 27-man squad, while Piccoli was called in as a replacement for the injured Mattia Zaccagni. 

Expected Italy squad vs. Estonia 

Goalkeepers: Donnarumma, Vicario, Carnesecchi. 

Defenders: Bastoni, Calafiori, Cambiaso, Di Lorenzo, Dimarco, Gabbia, Mancini, Spinazzola, Udogie. 

Midfielders: Barella, Cristante, Frattesi, Locatelli, Tonali. 

Forwards: Cambiaghi, Esposito, Kean, Orsolini, Raspadori, Retegui.