Euro 2016: Italy announce 28-man preliminary squad
Antonio Conte has announced his 28-man preliminary squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 tournament in France. These players will take part in a pre-Euro 2016 training camp after which the squad will be whittled down to 23 by 31 May.
Conte has left out players from Juventus and Milan as they will be playing the Coppa Italia final on Sunday. Manchester United’s Matteo Darmian and Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Motta have also been left out as their clubs are involved in cup finals.
Also read: The good, bad and the ugly of Conte’s arrival at Chelsea
The Italian manager will be looking to strengthen his midfield as the team has been rocked by the injuries of Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti. Conte has got in seven fringe players to look at before he finalises the squad for the Euros. Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco have not been included as the MLS season is in full swing.
Six forwards have been included in the training camp including Sunderland’s Fabio Borini. Southampton’s Graziano Pelle, Dortmund’s Ciro Immobile and Inter Milan’s Eder have also been included in the squad.
Federico Marchetti, Antonio Mirante and Marco Sportiello have been included as goalkeepers in the squad although none of them will possibly make it to the final squad as Gianluigi Buffon, Salvatore Sirigu and Gianluigi Donnarumma are all unavailable due to club commitments.
In defence, Leonardo Bonucci has been selected from Juventus as he is suspended for the club final. West Ham’s Angelo Ogbonna and Davide Astori from Fiorentina have been chosen for the training camp.
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The players will be put through their paces at the Italian FA’s Coverciano training centre for three days to allow Conte to finalise his 23 man squad for the Euros. The players unavailable for the camp this week will be included in the training camp from next Monday onwards as the Italians begin their final preparations for the Euros.
The squad for the preliminary training camp:
Goalkeepers: Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Antonio Mirante (Bologna), Marco Sportiello (Atalanta)
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Armando Izzo (Genoa), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham), Lorenzo Tonelli (Empoli)
Midfielders: Marco Benassi (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorginho (Napoli), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria), Davide Zappacosta (Torino)
Forwards: Fabio Borini (Sunderland), Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Leonardo Pavoletti (Genoa), Graziano Pellè (Southampton)