Milan’s De Winter among five Belgium players dropped for Italy clash | OneFootball

Milan centre-back Koni De Winter is one of the five Belgium players who will not be part of the matchday squad for Friday evening’s Nations League match against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico according to the latest updates.

Belgium team news: No De Winter for Italy clash

Belgium head coach Mark van Bommel named a squad of 28 players for the September-October international break, which includes a Nations League test against Italy in Rome at 19.45 BST on Friday.

PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 07: Mark van Bommel, Head Coach of Royal Antwerp, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League match between FC Porto and Royal Antwerp FC at Estadio do Dragao on November 07, 2023 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

As Nations League matches are official, UEFA-sanctioned fixtures, teams are only able to name 23 players in their matchday squads.

This means that Belgium have had to cut five names from their list. Those players are: De Winter, Mike Penders, Malick Fofana, Leandro Trossard and Kyriani Sabbe according to reports in Belgium.

Italy have also had to exclude several players from their matchday squad ahead of the Belgium clash, given that Roberto Mancini named a squad of 34 players earlier this month.

The Italy players who will watch from the stands are Massimo Pessina, Daniele Ghilardi, Eddy Kouadio, Matteo Ruggeri, Samuele Ricci, Nicolo Fagioli, Samuele Inacio, Nicolo Zaniolo, Antonio Vergara and Sebastiano Esposito.