Italy leave out Chelsea’s Palestra, recall Mandragora after five years, trust Maldini | OneFootball

Roberto Mancini’s first Italy squad prompts debate as Daniel Maldini is included despite his recent incident, Rolando Mandragora returns after five years, and Chelsea midfielder Marco Palestra is omitted.

According to Football Italia, the Azzurri play four Nations League games in this international window, against Belgium on September 25, Türkiye on September 28, France on October 2, then Türkiye again on October 5. The group concludes on November 12 with France and on November 15 in Belgium.

Mancini has named nine new faces, alongside several other surprise calls. Palestra’s absence had been expected, as he has yet to make a competitive debut for Chelsea after a pre-season injury.

There were doubts over Maldini’s inclusion following a car accident in which his licence was suspended for testing narrowly over the alcohol limit. Reports that he had also failed a drugs test were later shown to be inaccurate, with all toxicology results negative. Cagliari are standing by him, insisting he will start this weekend’s Serie A match.

There are returns too, with Nicolò Fagioli and Nicolò Zaniolo back for the first time since October 2024. More striking is new Torino midfielder Mandragora’s recall, his first involvement since March 2021, a gap of over five years. The 29-year-old’s only senior Italy cap came in June 2018 in a 3-1 friendly defeat to France.

Source: Football Italia

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