Italy have now released their 21-man squad for the upcoming Under-20s FIFA World Cup, with some big names making the cut.
The World Cup starts on the 20th of May, with the tournament to take place in Argentina. 24 teams will take part in the tournament, with the Azzurri set to start the campaign with a team meeting on Sunday in Rome and the training starts on Monday, before the squad takes off for Argentina. Italy’s group includes Brazil, Nigeria and Dominican Republic.
Paolo Nicolato’s side will be without Wilfried Gnonto, Fabio Miretti and Giorgio Scalvini, who do not qualify for the squad conditions. Roma have not given the go-ahead for Cristian Volpato’s selection, with Cher Ndour not involved because of his involvement with Benfica B.
Simone Pafundi, who has played for the national team already, has made it to the squad and the same applies for Francesco Pio Esposito, one of the three Esposito brothers. Empoli star Tommaso Baldanzi has also been called.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Sebastiano Desplanches (Trento); Jacopo Sassi (Giugliano Calcio), Gioele Zacchi (Sassuolo);
Defenders : Filippo Fiumanò (Aquila Montevarchi); Alessandro Fontanarosa (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Mantova), Samuel Giovane (Ascoli), Gabriele Guarino (Empoli), Riccardo Turicchia (Juventus), Mattia Zanotti (Inter);
Midfielders : Tommaso Baldanzi (Empoli), Cesare Casadei (Reading FC), Duccio Degli Innocenti (Empoli), Giacomo Faticanti (Roma), Luca Lipani (Genoa), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Matteo Prati (Spal);
Forwards : Giuseppe Ambrosino Di Bruttopilo (Cittadella), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Daniele Montevago (Sampdoria), Simone Pafundi (Udinese).
Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
