Italy formation and potential starting XI emerges after Baldini’s latest session | OneFootball

Silvio Baldini conducted his tactical training session on Tuesday ahead of his first game in charge of the Italy national team on Wednesday night, and it now clear what formation the interim CT as well as the potential starting line-up he could field.

Baldini will lead Italy into a pair of international friendlies this week, beginning with a test away against Luxembourg on Wednesday and then another away match against Greece on Sunday evening.

Baldini is serving as interim head coach of the Italy national team following the departure of Gennaro Gattuso after the Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. A new, permanent CT will not be appointed before the FIGC Presidential elections take place on June 22.

As Baldini is usually the head coach of Italy’s U21 side, he has decided to name a squad made up almost entirely of players he knows from the youth set-up. Of the 24 players included in the current Italy squad, only Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Palestra, Niccolo Pisilli and Pio Esposito have been previously capped at senior level.

According to the latest updates from ANSA, all four of Italy’s most senior players are expected to start when the young Azzurri side take on Luxembourg on Wednesday.

Baldini is expected to line his players up in a 4-3-3. Captain Donnarumma is expected to start in goal, Palestra at right-back, Pisilli in midfield and Esposito at centre-forward.

MILAN – DECEMBER 28: Davide Bartesaghi of AC Milan gestures during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Milan. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Milan’s Davide Bartesaghi is expected to start on the opposite side of full-back to Palestra. Fiorentina centre-back Pietro Comuzzo is uncapped but has been called up to several Italy camps previously, and is likely to start alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Fabio Chiarodia at the heart of the Azzurri defence.

Pisilli is likely to be joined by Sassuolo’s Luca Lipani and Fiorentina’s Cher Ndour in central midfield, while Esposito will be flanked by Luca Koleosho and either Sampdoria’s Luigi Cherubini or Frosinone’s Seydou Fini.

EMPOLI – MARCH 26: Luca Koleosho of Italy U21 in action during the UEFA Under 21 EURO Qualifier match between Italy U21 and North Macedonia U21 at Stadio Carlo Castellani on March 26, 2026 in Empoli. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Potential Italy XI against Luxembourg

(4-3-3): Donnarumma; Palestra, Comuzzo, Chiarodia, Bartesaghi; Lipani, Pisilli, Ndour; Cherubini, Esposito, Koleosho.

Italy squad for June friendlies

MILAN – NOVEMBER 16: Gianluigi Donnarumma warms up prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Norway at San Siro Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Milan. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City), Giovanni Daffara (Avellino), Lorenzo Palmisani (Frosinone).

Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Atalanta), Davide Bartesaghi (Milan), Fabio Chiarodia (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Costantino Favasuli (Catanzaro), Filippo Mane (Borussia Dortmund), Marco Palestra (Atalanta), Luca Reggiani (Borussia Dortmund).

Midfielders: Tommaso Berti (Cesena), Matteo Dagasso (Venezia), Giacomo Faticanti (Juventus), Luca Lipani (Sassuolo), Cher Ndour (Fiorentina), Niccolo Pisilli (Roma).

Forwards: Francesco Camarda (Lecce), Luigi Cherubini (Sampdoria), Jeff Ekhator (Genoa), Pio Esposito (Inter), Seydou Fini (Frosinone), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Luca Koleosho (Paris FC).