Jorginho misses out as Italy confirm squad
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
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"Nobody can stop us from dreaming," said Italy coach Antonio Conte after naming a 23-man squad for UEFA EURO 2016 which does not include Napoli playmaker Jorginho.
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Italy squad for UEFA EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris).
Defenders: Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham).
Midfielders: Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Stefano Sturaro (Juventus), Thiago Motta (Paris).
Forwards: Éder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Graziano Pellè (Southampton), Simone Zaza (Juventus).
Napoli playmaker Jorginho is one of the seven players to fall at the final hurdle after Italy coach Antonio Conte confirmed his 23-man squad for UEFA EURO 2016.
The Brazilian-born Jorginho, 24, was seen by many as the deep-lying playmaker in the Azzurri's 3-5-2 system after injuries to Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti and the omission of Andrea Pirlo. Conte, however, has opted for the more experienced Daniele De Rossi and Thiago Motta for that role.
Angelo Obgonna, who played for Conte at Juventus and had a good season in the English Premier League with West Ham, was preferred to Davide Astori and Daniele Rugani in defence, while midfielders Riccardo Montolivo (struggling with a calf injury), Marco Benassi, Davide Zappacosta and Giacomo Bonaventura also missed out.
The only uncapped player in the squad is Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro while talented 22-year-old attacking midfielder Federico Bernardeschi was confirmed after making his Italy debut in the friendly game against Spain in March.
"We are trying to create something great in order to surprise everybody and make the Italian people proud," said coach Antonio Conte. "Italy have not won this competition since 1968 so we are fully aware of how difficult our task is, but we are trying to take it step by step and we will see how far we can go. Nobody can stop us from dreaming."
Italy's Group E fixtures
13/06: Belgium v Italy (Lyon)
17/06: Italy v Sweden (Toulouse)
22/06: Italy v Republic of Ireland (Lille)