Italy resume their pursuit of World Cup qualification. The Azzurri are set to face Estonia and Israel once again, the same opponents they defeated in September in Gennaro Gattuso’s first two matches as Head Coach. Italy will take to the pitch in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, on Saturday 11 October before hosting Israel at the Stadio Friuli in Udine on Tuesday 14 October, the same venue that staged the Nations League encounter with Ben Shimon’s side a year ago. Both fixtures will kick off at 20:45 CEST.

Gennaro Gattuso has called up 27 players for the training camp, which will begin on the evening of Monday 6 October at the Coverciano Technical Centre. Fiorentina midfielder Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Bologna forward Nicolò Cambiaghi have earned their first call-ups, while Matteo Gabbia and Bryan Cristante return to the Azzurri squad for the first time since October and June 2024 respectively.

SQUAD LIST

GOALKEEPERS: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);

DEFENDERS: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Diego Coppola (Brighton & Hove Albion), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham);

MIDFIELDERS: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Hans Nicolussi Caviglia (Fiorentina), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);

FORWARDS: Nicolò Cambiaghi (Bologna), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Atletico Madrid), Mateo Retegui (Al-Qadsiah), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).

OPPONENTS. The 5–0 victory in Bergamo was Italy’s biggest ever win over Estonia – their eighth in as many meetings with the side currently ranked 129th in the FIFA World Ranking and still chasing their first-ever qualification for a World Cup finals. In Debrecen, Italy claimed their seventh win in eight matches against Israel (the only draw being the 0-0 stalemate at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico). Most recently, on 14 October last year in Udine, the Azzurri ran out 4-1 winners thanks to a Giovanni Di Lorenzo brace and goals from Mateo Retegui and Davide Frattesi.

PAST MEETINGS IN TALLINN AND UDINE. The Azzurri have played three previous matches in Tallinn, all in World Cup qualifying. The first came on 22 September 1993, when Italy ran out 3-0 winners thanks to a Roberto Baggio brace and a goal from Roberto Mancini. A year later, in October 1994, the Azzurri won 2–0 following goals from Christian Panucci and Pierluigi Casiraghi. The third and most recent meeting in the Estonian capital came 15 years ago at the Lilleküla Stadium, when Cesare Prandelli’s Italy came from behind to win 2-1, with goals from Antonio Cassano and Leonardo Bonucci. Exactly one year on, Udine will once again host Italy vs. Israel. On 14 October 2024, at the Stadio Friuli, Italy defeated the Israelis 4-1 (a Di Lorenzo brace, plus goals from Retegui and Frattesi) on matchday 4 in UEFA Nations League Group A2. The Azzurri have played ten matches in Udine, remaining unbeaten with 8 wins and 2 draws. Those fixtures saw them score 21 goals and concede just three.

CALENDAR AND GROUP I STANDINGS

11 October, 18:00 CEST – Norway vs. Israel (Oslo)

11 October, 20.45 CEST – Estonia vs. ITALY (Tallinn)

14 October, 18:00 CEST – Estonia vs. Moldova (Tallinn)

14 October, 20:45 CEST – ITALY vs. Israel (Udine)

13 November, 18:00 CET – Norway vs. Estonia (Oslo)

13 November, 20:45 CET – Moldova vs. ITALY (Chisinau)

16 November, 20:45 CET – Israel vs. Moldova (Debrecen)

16 November, 20:45 CET – ITALY vs. Norway (Milan)

Standings: Norway 15 points (5 matches played), ITALY 9 (4), Israel 9 (5), Estonia 3 (5), Moldova 0 (5)