Cassano back as Donadoni wields axe

Roberto Donadoni (pictured, left) left several World Cup winners out of his first competitive squad for the Euro 2008 qualifying double header with Lithuania and France and recalled Real Madrid's Antonio Cassano.

Cassano did not feature in the World Cup-winning 23 coached by Donadoni's predecessor Marcello Lippi who quit in the aftermath of the country's triumph. However, he has been recalled in Donadoni's first serious squad having not represented the Azzurri for more than a year.

The new boss had rested 22 of the 23 World Cup winners for the 2-0 friendly defeat by Croatia earlier this month. Some big names are still absent from Donadoni's list, notably Fiorentina striker Luca Toni, Roma playmaker Francesco Totti and Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero. Marco Materazzi is suspended for both games as a result of his infamous spat with Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final while Alessandro Nesta is injured. Mauro Camoranesi and Vincenzo Iaquinta, who both featured in the final, are also omitted.

Emiliano Bonazzoli, Dario Dainelli and Marco Marchionni, who did not feature in Germany, are given a chance while, of the shadow squad that faced Croatia in Livorno, Manuel Pasqual, Massimo Ambrosini, Franco Semioli, David Di Michele and Tommaso Rocchi all survive.

Italy play their first competitive match since their fourth World Cup win on September 2 in Naples with Lithuania and then travel to Paris for a rematch of the World Cup final.

Italy Squad
Goalkeepers: Christian Abbiati (Torino), Marco Amelia (Livorno), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus).
Defender: Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Dario Dainelli (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Internazionale), Massimo Oddo (Lazio), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona).
Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Marco Marchionni (Juventus), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Franco Semioli (Chievo).
Forwards: Emiliano Bonazzoli (Sampdoria), Antonio Cassano (Real Madrid), David Di Michele (Palermo), Alberto Gilardino (Milan), Filippo Inzaghi (Milan), Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio).


Meanwhile, Under-21 boss Pierluigi Casiraghi (pictured, centre along with assistant Gianfranco Zola) named his squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Iceland (September 1 in Reykjavik) and Austria (September 5 in Forli). Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini returns after he appeared for the full side against Croatia. View the full squad by clicking here.