Cagliari brings a pair to the national team: Daniel Maldini and Alessandro Romano are among Roberto Mancini's squad members, the first since his return as Italy coach, for the UEFA Nations League fixtures during this major international break that will span the next three weeks. The two Rossoblu players will travel to Coverciano after tomorrow's match in Udine . And there's also a newcomer, Sebastiano Esposito, who—after all the well-known summer turmoil—is called up for the first time (last Sunday he scored his first goal for Sassuolo, against Juventus).
After "changing" nationality from Swiss to Italian , Romano was immediately included in the Azzurri's new cycle and is hoping for a debut. But Maldini is also the surprise of the national team, not so much for his performance (more than positive so far this season), but for his car accident (which resulted in a positive breathalyzer test and the suspension of his license) last Saturday . Romano, son of a famous Italian, has made six appearances for Italy, the last one on September 8, 2025, against Israel.
Goalkeeper Elia Caprile, who was called up from Cagliari in November 2025 and last March, is not included . Italy is in Group 1 of League A and during this break will play against Belgium on Friday the 25th in Rome, Turkey on Monday the 28th in Bursa, France on Friday the 2nd in Saint-Denis, and Turkey again on Monday the 5th in Bologna, all with kick-off at 8:45 PM. The final two group matches, against France at home and Belgium away, will be on November 12th and 15th respectively.
This is the complete list of Mancini's thirty-four players called up, with Italy gathering at Coverciano starting on Sunday evening.
Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Massimo Pessina (Bologna), Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus);
Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Diego Coppola (Paris FC), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Roma), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Eddy Kouadio (Monza), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Issa Doumbia (Sporting CP), Nicolò Fagioli (Fiorentina), Davide Frattesi (Lazio), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Alessandro Romano (Cagliari), Sandro Tonali (Tottenham);
Forwards: Nicolò Cambiaghi (Bologna), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Sebastiano Esposito (Sassuolo), Samuele Inácio (Borussia Dortmund), Moise Kean (Como), Daniel Maldini (Cagliari), Giacomo Raspadori (Atalanta), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Antonio Vergara (Napoli), Nicolò Zaniolo (Udinese), Mohamed Alì Zoma (Nuremberg),