The Azzurri had their first training session this afternoon in Appiano Gentile after meeting last night at the Inter ground to begin preparations ahead of the double-header against Germany in the UEFA Nations League quarter-final. There are two new faces amongst the squad, Matteo Ruggeri and Cesare Casadei both received their first call-up to the senior side after working their way through the Italy youth ranks.

The Atalanta defender spoke for the first time in a press conference: “I am very happy, I’ve been waiting for it. I always try to work hard and improve in every session, every game. I want to thank Spalletti for making my dream come true. I’m really happy”. The Torino midfielder spoke: “Everything is coming so fast, I try to stay focused on the present, to do what I can. I think about working day by day, it’s always a pleasure to hear good things from the Coach and being called up is a great source of pride, it’s greatly rewarding”.

Born in 2002, Ruggeri has already had some experience on an international level as he played a starring role last summer when Atalanta won the Europa League. This season, he is fighting for the Scudetto with La Dea, something a little further off given the defeat last night to Inter: “We faced the toughest side in the league and for good stretches we played at their level, but they showed themselves to be the stronger side. There are some regrets but now I’m here and focused totally on Italy”. To those asking for a comparison between Gasperini and Spalletti, he said: “Coach Gasperini pushes you and never settles. I think that Spalletti is similar in his play even if I don’t know him too well yet”.

Thanks to Torino who bought him on a permanent deal in January, Italy has also been able to watch one of its brightest young talents. Coming up through the Inter youth sector, Casadei left the Nerazzurri in the summer of 2022 to move to Chelsea as an investment of around 20 million was made to bring him to London. His journey in England began with the Blues U21s and continued with loans out to Reading and Leicester before being recalled by Chelsea and making his Premier League debut. In the meantime, he also finished second with Italy at the U20 World Cup in Argentina, being awarded as best player of the tournament and top goalscorer with 7 goals.

“My time abroad gave me a lot. Those two years in England made me a different person and footballer, I am proud of my journey. English football is very intense but Serie A is also an intense and competitive league”. He integrated quickly at Torino, getting into the starting XI right away and scoring his first in our league: “I am very happy with my first month at Torino. I’ve slotted into the group thanks to the trust from the club, I was looking for a side to play more games and get that consistency I was lacking”. Someone who helped him integrate as fast as possible was Samuele Ricci, now also his international teammate: “Samu is a key figure at Torino, he’s the captain and an example. I try to follow what he does, he’s helped me a lot in the first few weeks”.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Cesare Casadei (Torino), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Nicolò Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Forwards: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Lucca (Udinese), Daniel Maldini (Atalanta), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).