The National Team’s journey to the 2026 World Cup kicks off with two matches: first in Oslo against Norway, and then in Reggio Emilia against Moldova. Between Friday 6 June and Monday 9 June, the Azzurri will return to the pitch for their opening two fixtures in Group I, which also includes Estonia and Israel.

Hellas Verona defender Diego Coppola, who was named in Carmine Nunziata’s Italy U21 squad for the training camp ahead of the European Under-21 Championship, is a new face in Luciano Spalletti’s 27-man squad. A first group of 21 players will meet at the Federal Technical Centre in Coverciano on Saturday 31 May. The remaining six – Inter’s Acerbi, Barella, Bastoni, Dimarco, and Frattesi, along with Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Donnarumma – will join the squad on the evening of Monday 2 June, after the Champions League final.

Davide Zappacosta returns to the squad after three and a half years – his last call-up was in November 2021. Also back are Riccardo Orsolini (last called up in June 2024) and Francesco Acerbi, who hadn’t featured since March 2024. Among those selected are four players fresh off a title-winning season with Napoli (Meret, Buongiorno, Di Lorenzo and Raspadori) and two Europa League champions with Tottenham, namely Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie.

SQUAD LIST

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).

NORWAY VS. ITALY. Italy will kick off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign - the final tournament will be held across Canada, Mexico and the United States - at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo on Friday 6 June. Their opponents, Norway, already have six points from their first two matches. There have been 17 previous meetings between the two nations: Italy have ten wins compared to Norway’s three, with four draws completing the picture. This will be their first clash in nearly a decade - since 13 October 2015 - when the Azzurri came from behind to win 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome thanks to goals from Florenzi and Pellè in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

ITALY VS. MOLDOVA. On Monday 9 June, Italy will return to the Stadio Città del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia nearly four years on from their last match there – a 5-0 win over Lithuania on 8 September 2021. Italy, who will be up against Moldova, will be taking to the pitch for the fifth time in the city, which has become something of a fortress for the national team. In their four previous outings in Reggio Emilia, the Azzurri have won every time, scoring twelve goals without reply. The first and most recent games there both came against Lithuania, ending in 4-0 (November 1995, Euro qualifying) and 5-0 (September 2021, World Cup qualifying) wins. In between were victories over Israel (1-0, September 2017) in World Cup qualifying and Poland (2-0, November 2020) during the UEFA Nations League group stage.