Two missing for Azzurri

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni will have to do without injured duo Gianluca Zambrotta and Massimo Ambrosini for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier at Faroe Islands.

Zambrotta, the Barcelona full-back, sustained a minor knee injury during training on Thursday while Milan midfielder Ambrosini has been unable to recover from a problematic thigh.

Both players will not travel with the World Cup winners to the Faroe Islands but Donadoni is hopeful of recovering both players in time for Wednesday's qualifier against Lithuania in Kaunas.

The World champions are currently two points behind Group B leaders Ukraine, France and Scotland.

[Azzurri squad to face Faroe Islands & Lithuania]

Azzurrini Euro squad finalised

After helping Parma avoid relegation during a six-month loan from Manchester United, striker Giuseppe Rossi has been included in Pierluigi Casiraghi's Italy squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Netherlands.

However, fellow forward Nicola Pozzi, whose five goals pushed Empoli towards UEFA Cup qualification, failed to make the cut.

Rossi, 20, scored nine goals in 19 Serie A games after joining Parma in January, following a less successful loan to Newcastle United.

Giampaolo Pazzini, Raffaele Palladino and Graziano Pelle complete the list of attackers.

Meanwhile, Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani and Cagliari defender Michele Canini did enough in the last weeks of the Serie A season to convince Casiraghi they have overcome the serious injuries that marred their campaigns.

[U-21 Euro 2007 Championship Finals Schedule]


Italy squad
Goalkeepers: Gianluca Curci (Roma), Andrea Consigli (Sambenedettese), Emiliano Viviano (Brescia).
Defenders: Marco Andreolli (Inter), Michele Canini (Cagliari), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Andrea Coda (Udinese), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Andrea Mantovani (Chievo), Alessandro Potenza (Fiorentina), Andrea Raggi (Empoli).
Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani (Roma), Luca Cigarini (Parma), Daniele Dessena (Parma), Andrea Lazzari (Piacenza), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Antonio Nocerino (Piacenza), Simone Padoin (Vicenza), Alessandro Rosina (Torino).
Forwards: Raffaele Palladino (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Fiorentina), Graziano Pelle (Cesena), Giuseppe Rossi (Parma).

England squad
Goalkeepers: Ben Alnwick (Tottenham Hotspur), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Joe Hart (Manchester City).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Wigan Athletic), Gary Cahill (Aston Villa), Anton Ferdinand (West Ham United), Justin Hoyte (Arsenal), Nedum Onuoha (Manchester City), Liam Rosenior (Fulham), Steven Taylor (Newcastle United), Peter Whittingham (Cardiff City).
Midfielders: David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham Hotspur), James Milner (Newcastle United), Mark Noble (West Ham United), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham United), Kieran Richardson (Manchester United), Wayne Routledge (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Matt Derbyshire (Blackburn Rovers), Leroy Lita (Reading), David Nugent (Preston North End), James Vaughan (Everton), Ashley Young (Aston Villa).

Serbia squad
Goalkeepers: Damir Kahriman (Vojvodina), Igor Stefanovic (Zemun), Aleksandar Kesic (Mladost Apatin).
Defenders: Nemanja Rnic (Partizan), Branislav Ivanovic (Lokomotiv Moskva), Dusko Tosic (Sochaux), Gojko Kacar (Vojvodina), Aleksandar Kolarov (Beograd), Nikola Petkovic (Vojvodina), Slobodan Rajkovic (Beograd), Antonio Rukavina (Partizan), Dusan Basta (Crvena Zvezda).
Midfielders: Milos Krasic (CSKA Moskva), Nikola Drincic (Amkar Perm), Bosko Jankovic (Mallorca), Zoran Tosic (Banat Zrenjanin), Milan Smiljanic (Partizan), Djordje Ivelja (Beograd), Predrag Pavlovic (Napredak Krusevac), Dejan Milovanovic (Crvena Zvezda), Stefan Babovic (Beograd).
Forwards: Djordje Rakic (Beograd), Dragan Mrdja (Lierse).

Czech Republic squad
Goalkeepers: Josef Kubasek (Banik Sokolov), Milan Svenger (Zenit Caslav), Zdenek Zlamal (Zlin).
Defenders: Roman Hubnik (Moskva), Michal Kadlec (Sparta Praha), Josef Kaufman (Teplice), Jiri Kladrubsky (Dynamo Ceske Budejovice), Martin Klein (Teplice), Milan Kopic (Mlada Boleslav), Martin Latka (Slavia Praha).
Midfielders: Tomas Jirsak (Teplice), Frantisek Rajtoral (Baník Ostrava), Mario Holek (Brno), Lubos Husek (Sparta Praha), Daniel Pudil (Slovan Liberec), Michal Svec (Slavia Praha), Daniel Kolar (Sparta Praha).
Forwards: Jan Blazek (Slovan Liberec), Martin Fillo (Viktoria Plzen), Jan Holenda (Dynamo Ceske Budejovice), Michal Papadopulos (Bayer Leverkusen), Jan Kysela (Mlada Boleslav), Tomas Krbecek (Viktoria Plzen).

Don chooses Inzaghi

Having scored twice in the Champions League final, Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi has been recalled to the Italy squad for the first time since October ahead of the Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania.

The 33-year-old has registered 22 goals in 53 games for the Azzurri but has not played for his country since the 2-0 win against Ukraine on 7 October.

Coach Roberto Donadoni has also rewarded forwards Cristiano Lucarelli and Tommaso Rocchi, who boast 20 and 16 Serie A goals for Livorno and Lazio respectively this season, with call-ups into his 23-man squad while 25-year-old defender Alessandro Gamberini, whose Fiorentina side had the best defensive record in Serie A, is the only uncapped player involved.

Italy are fourth in Group B with ten points from five matches, two behind France, Ukraine and Scotland. They play the Faroes in Torshavn on 2 June before travelling to Kaunas to meet Lithuania four days later.

The squad will meet at the Coverciano training camp in Florence on Tuesday morning for two days of training, before travelling to the Faroe Islands on Thursday afternoon.

The Azzurri will return to Italy after Saturday’s match and will train in Milan before flying to Lithuania on June 5.


Italy Squad:
Goalkeepers: Christian Abbiati (Torino), Marco Amelia (Livorno), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus).
Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Marco Materazzi (Inter), Massimo Oddo (Milan), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Max Tonetto (Roma), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona).
Midfielders: Massimo Ambrosini (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Aimo Diana (Palermo), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Andrea Pirlo (Milan).
Forwards: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Filippo Inzaghi (Milan), Cristiano Lucarelli (Livorno), Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio).


Group B Fixtures:
Saturday 2 June 2007
Faroes Islands v Italy
Lithuania v Georgia
France v Ukraine

Wednesday 6 June 2007
France v Georgia
Lithuania v Italy
Faroe Islands v Scotland

Casiraghi starts new U-21 era

Italian Under-21 boss Pierluigi Casiraghi has named his squad for their opening Euro 2009 qualifier with Albania.

The youngsters will begin their campaign in Pontedera on June 1 in a group which also consists of Croatia, Greece, Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands.

The 2009 Finals will be hosted by Sweden, who qualify automatically, while the 10 group winners and four best second-placed sides will qualify for the play-offs set for October 2008.

Casiraghi therefore has to start a new cycle with players born after January 1, 1986 and will meet the squad on Tuesday for a three-day training camp.

Parma and Juventus are the most represented clubs with three players each, followed by Treviso with two.

The Azzurrini have also qualified for the final phase of this year’s tournament, which will take place from June 10 to June 23 in the Netherlands. Casiraghi has named a preliminary squad of 30 players, which will be cut to 23 by May 30. Italy play their first match on June 11 against Serbia and will then play England and the Czech Republic on June 14 and 17.


Squad for Albania:
Goalkeepers: Consigli (Sambenedettese), Sirigu (Palermo).
Defenders: Belmonte (Bari), Bocchetti (Frosinone), Criscito (Genoa), Marzoratti (Empoli), Motta (Udinese), Rickler (Chievo), M. Rossi (Modena).
Midfielders: Cigarini (Parma), Candreva (Ternana), De Ceglie (Juventus), De Martino (Udinese), Dessena (Parma), Marchisio (Juventus), Paonessa (Vicenza), Russotto (Treviso).
Forwards: Acquafresca (Treviso), Giovinco (Juventus), Lupoli (Derby County), G. Rossi (Parma).