FIFA U-20 World Cup – Cesare Casadei of Italy vs South Korea
Italy national team head coach Luciano Spalletti has confirmed his squad of 25 players for the upcoming Nations League quarter-finals against Germany during the upcoming March international break, and has handed first call-ups to two rising Serie A stars in Cesare Casadei and Matteo Ruggeri.
The Azzurri will play Germany over two legs of the Nations League quarter-finals. Italy will host in San Siro on March 20, before playing at Signal Iduna Park, the regular home of Borussia Dortmund, on March 23.
Casadei earns first Italy call-up
Casadei and Ruggeri have been included in the senior national team squad for the first time.
Casadei has been a star among the Italy youth ranks for several seasons, making headlines with the U20s when he won both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot at the U20 World Cup in 2023, as the Azzurrini narrowly lost out in the final against Uruguay.
He had joined Premier League side Chelsea the summer prior, in 2022, and had relatively productive spells on loan in the Championship with Reading and Leicester City, but struggled to break into the first team, particularly under fellow Italian Enzo Maresca.
He eventually returned to Italy in January, signing on a permanent deal with Torino, where he has since started in every Serie A match since his debut, and has scored one and assisted one from midfield in his last two outings.
Ruggeri included in latest Italy squad
Atalanta wing-back Ruggeri is the other player in the latest Italy squad to earn their first call-up.
Ruggeri has represented Italy at every youth international level from U17s upwards, earning 42 caps across the various age groups, and is a constant in the Atalanta first team, both in Serie A and the Champions League.
He is the beneficiary of an injury to first-choice Inter and Italy wing-back Federico Dimarco, who has not been included in Spalletti’s latest selection. Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie is the other left wing-back chosen this time around.
There are also a handful of players in the latest Italy squad who have been called up previously, but remain uncapped.
Towering Udinese centre-forward Lorenzo Lucca is one of them, as is Fiorentina and youngsters Pietro Comuzzo at centre-back.
Italy squad for Germany Nations League quarter-finals
Goalkeepers: Donnarumma (PSG), Meret (Napoli), Vicario (Tottenham).
Defenders: Bastoni (Inter) Buongiorno (Napoli), Calafiori (Arsenal), Cambiaso (Juventus), Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Gatti (Juventus), Ruggeri (Atalanta), Udogie (Tottenham).
Midfielders: Barella (Inter), Casadei (Torino), Frattesi (Inter), Ricci (Torino), Rovella (Lazio), Tonali (Newcastle).
Forwards: Kean (Fiorentina), Lucca (Udinese), Maldini (Atalanta), Politano (Napoli), Raspadori (Napoli), Retegui (Atalanta), Zaccagni (Lazio).
