Six players recalled and one first call-up in latest Italy national team squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – MARCH 22: Manuel Locatelli of Italy looks on during a Italy training session on March 22, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

Six players have been recalled to the Italy national team squad, and there is also a first call-up for Hellas Verona defender Diego Coppola among Luciano Spalletti’s selections for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June. 

Spalletti has named a squad of 27 players to take on Norway in Oslo on June 6 and Moldova on home soil on June 9 in what will be Italy’s first two matches of the World Cup qualifying campaign. 

Among the players to return to the Italy squad, having been left out in March, is 37-year-old Inter centre-back Francesco Acerbi, who will be fresh off a Champions League final with the Nerazzurri. 

His teammate Federico Dimarco, who missed out on the Nations League quarter-final squad through injury in March, is also back and available to play. 

Milan’s Matteo Gabbia is also back in the squad for the first time since October, and there is a return for 32-year-old Atalanta wing-back Davide Zappacosta as well. 

Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli has also been included in the Italy squad for just the second time this season. He is joined by Bologna forward Riccardo Orsolini, who comes back into the squad at the expense of Lazio’s Mattia Zaccagni. 

There is also a first call-up for 21-year-old Verona defender Coppola, who has been linked with a move to both Juventus and Milan at various stages of the 2024-25 season. 

Confirmed Italy squad for Norway and Moldova 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).