Ten months after Italy’s 9-1 win over Armenia in their last outing on 18 November in Palermo, Italy are returning to the pitch for their first two games in the UEFA Nations League, with the aim of extending their run of eleven consecutive wins. Italy will first host Bosnia & Herzegovina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence on Friday 4 September (20:45 CEST kick-off), then travelling to Amsterdam to face the Netherlands at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Monday 7 September (20:45 CEST kick-off).

Coach Roberto Mancini opted for an extended squad of 37 (having now called up a total of 67 different players in his time in charge), who will meet at the Coverciano Federal Training Centre in the evening of Saturday 29 August. This date marks the first milestone in a season full of international action, with eight games scheduled over the course of the next two months, all ahead of the European Championship next summer, postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A first senior call-up for Alessandro Bastoni, Manuel Locatelli and Francesco Caputo, with the Inter defender having already taken part in a training camp with the senior side in February 2019. Another marked presence is that of Azzurri captain Giorgio Chiellini, who returns to the squad after a year out through injury.

ITALY VS. BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA. These two nations have met on three occasions in the past: after a 2-1 friendly defeat in November 1996, a match which marked an end to the Sacchi era, Italy won both of their subsequent encounters in EURO 2020 qualifiers (2-1 in Turin and 3-0 in Zenica). Italy are unbeaten in Florence, having played 26 games in the city and come away with 20 wins and six draws. Their last trip to the Franchi ended in a 1-0 win for the Azzurri, Graziano Pellé’s goal gifting Italy three points against Malta in EURO 2016 qualifiers.

NETHERLANDS VS. ITALY. Italy hold a positive record against Dutch opposition: nine wins, nine draws and just three defeats from their 21 meetings. The last of these came in a friendly on 4 June 2018 in Turin (a 1-1 draw with goals from Zaza and Akè), an occasion which also marked Roberto Mancini’s first game in charge on home soil. This will be the Azzurri’s eleventh outing in Amsterdam, their five games against the Netherlands (two wins, three draws) being added to by five games in the 1928 Olympic Games as Italy finished with a bronze medal.

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE 2020/21. This will be the second edition of the new-born international competition, a league divided into four groups from A to D with a promotion and relegation system and won by Portugal in the inaugural edition in 2019. The 2020/21 edition of the tournament has seen League A extended from twelve to 16 nations, with four groups of four teams and a total of six matchdays between September and November 2020.

The 55 federations have been divided into four leagues based on their UEFA national ranking (positions 1-16 in League A, 17-32 in League B, 33-48 in League C and 49-55 in League D). Italy have been inserted into Group 1 of League A, up against the Netherlands, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Poland, who they already faced in the previous edition of the tournament (a 0-0 draw in Bologna and a 1-0 win in Chorzow).

The four group winners from League A will then compete in the final phase of the UEFA Nations League, which will take place at a date still to be determined. The knockout tournament will be hosted by Group 1’s winner, with the host cities set to be Milan and Turin should Italy top their group. The group winners in Leagues B, C and D will be promoted, while the last-placed teams in Leagues A and B will be relegated. Seeing as League C has four groups and League D has just two, the two teams to be relegated from League C will be decided through play-offs over two legs. One novelty from the Nations League comes in the availability of two play-off places for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar: along with the ten group winners from qualification which begins in March 2021, there will also be play-offs for the ten runners-up from the World Cup qualifiers, along with the top two group winners from the UEFA Nations League who haven’t already qualified or made the play-offs.

The full squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Mattia Caldara (Atalanta), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Danilo D’Ambrosio (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Luca Pellegrini (Juventus), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Giacomo Bonaventura, Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho* (Chelsea), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Sandro Tonali* (Brescia), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma);

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenua), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Everton), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna).

*Suspended call-ups awaiting the outcome of medical tests once the players' respective isolation requirements are complete.

The schedule (all times CEST):

Saturday 29 August

The group to meet at the Coverciano Federal Training Centre by 23:30

Sunday 30 August

13:45 – Press conference with the Coach at the Coverciano Auditorium 

17:30 – Training (behind closed doors)

Monday 31 August

13:45 – Press conference with a player at the Coverciano Auditorium

17:30 – Training (behind closed doors)

Tuesday 1 September

13:45 – Press conference with a player at the Coverciano Auditorium

17:30 – Training (behind closed doors)

Wednesday 2 September

13:45 – Press conference with a player at the Coverciano Auditorium

17:30 – Training (behind closed doors)

Thursday 3 September

17:00 – Italy’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (location TBC) 

17:30 - Italy’s training at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes - location TBC)

18:30 – Bosnia & Herzegovina’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Stadio Franchi in Florence

19:00 – Bosnia & Herzegovina’s training at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

Friday 4 September

20:45 - Italy vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina (Stadio Franchi in Florence)

Followed by a press conference with the Coach

Saturday 5 September

10:00 – Training (behind closed doors)

17:30 – Transfer Florence to Venice

Sunday 6 September

10:45 – Transfer Venice to Amsterdam

11:00 – The Netherlands’ training at the KNVB Campus (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

13:15 – The Netherlands’ press conference (Coach and one player) at the KNVB Campus

17:30 - Italy’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Johan Cruijff ArenA

18:00 – Italy’s training at the Johan Cruijff ArenA (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

Monday 7 September

20:45 – Netherlands vs. Italy (Johan Cruijff ArenA)

Followed by a press conference with the Coach and the squad’s return to Italy