Italy coach Roberto Donadoni has omitted both Antonio Cassano and Alberto Gilardino from his 25-man squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers with Ukraine and Georgia.
Juventus veteran Alessandro Del Piero and Fiorentina's Luca Toni return along with Vincenzo Iaquinta and the previously suspended Marco Materazzi.
The new face is that of Lazio midfielder Stefano Mauri, while David Di Michele, Antonio Di Natale and Sampdoria’s Gennaro Del Vecchio retain their spots.
The World champions desperately need points in Group B after a 1-1 draw with Lithuania and a 3-1 defeat in France, so their chances of reaching the tournament in Austria and Switzerland depend on these next two games.
Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine – who were defeated 3-0 by Marcello Lippi’s men on their way to the World Cup triumph this summer – play at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on October 7. The trip to Tbilisi to take on Georgia will take place on October 11.
The squad will unite at the Coverciano training ground in Florence on Monday.
Italy squad
Goalkeepers: Christian Abbiati (Torino), Marco Amelia (Livorno), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus).
Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Fabio Grosso (Inter), Marco Materazzi (Inter), Alessandro Nesta (Milan), Massimo Oddo (Lazio), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona)
Midfielders: Mauro German Camoranesi (Juventus), Gennaro Delvecchio (Sampdoria), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Stefano Mauri (Lazio).
Forwards: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), David Di Michele (Palermo), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese), Filippo Inzaghi (Milan), Luca Toni (Fiorentina).
Sunday, October 01, 2006
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