Italy given Tresoldi hope after Germany cut him from 2026 World Cup squad | OneFootball

Italy may well have received a boost in their hopes of calling up Nicolò Tresoldi, as the Club Brugge striker has been left out of the Germany squad for the 2026 World Cup.

The 21-year-old centre-forward was born in Sardinia and moved to Germany with his family at a very young age, but has dual citizenship.

He spent his entire career at Hannover until the €7.5m transfer to Belgium and Club Brugge, where he absolutely flourished this season, scoring 19 goals and providing seven assists in 56 competitive games.

Italy could still call Tresoldi

BRAUNSCHWEIG, GERMANY – MARCH 27: Nicolo Tresoldi of Germany in action during the UEFA Under21 EURO Qualifier between Germany U21 and Northern Ireland U21 at Eintracht Stadion on March 27, 2026 in Braunschweig, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Tresoldi has played his international football for Germany at various youth levels, including 12 goals in 24 caps for the Under-21 side, but is still technically eligible for the Azzurri.

That situation will continue for the next few months, because he has not been included in the Germany squad for the 2026 World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada.

Instead, Nick Woltemade got the nod from coach Julian Nagelsmann.

TBILISI, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 18: Nicolo Tresoldi of Germany celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Under21 Championship qualification match between Georgia and Germany at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium on November 18, 2025 in Tbilisi, Georgia. (Photo by Levan Verdzeuli/Getty Images)

“Tresoldi was very, very close to making the squad. He’s not a classic target man, but he’s a classic striker. He was extremely close, but in the end he didn’t make the squad because in that case we had to leave someone else out. It’s not easy,” said Nagelsmann in his press conference.

It could give Italy a crucial opportunity to convince Tresoldi that he’d get more regular playing time with them than Die Mannschaft.

It’s reported that his decision to play for Germany was fuelled by a rejection from the Italy national team scouts at Under-17 level, who thought he was not up to their standards.

Meanwhile, there is the possibility that Argentina could also try to get him to play for them.