Ranocchia and Destro miss Italy cut

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli named his 23-man squad for UEFA EURO 2012 a few hours ahead of the friendly game against Luxembourg in Parma with defender Andrea Ranocchia and striker Mattia Destro the last two players to leave the Azzurri training camp.

After reducing the squad from 32 to 25 players yesterday, with goalkeeper Francesco Viviano, defenders Davide Astori, Salvatore Bocchetti, Domenico Criscito and midfielders Luca Cigarini, Ezequiel Schelotto and Marco Verratti all left out, Prandelli made his final cuts just ahead of the deadline to send the official lists for the tournament.

The 24-year-old Ranocchia had come from a difficult season with FC Internazionale Milano in which he suffered a series of injuries, while the 21-year-old Destro had been a surprise inclusion on the provisional list after scoring 12 goals in Serie A for AC Siena.

"At one point I considered taking six forwards to Poland and Ukraine but then I changed my mind," explained Prandelli. "Now we will start to find out the results of our work. With the game against Luxembourg tonight we can really say that our adventure is getting closer."

Juventus winger Emanuele Giaccherini is the only uncapped player in the squad, while Alessandro Diamanti (Bologna FC) and Fabio Borini (AS Roma) have only played one friendly game each for the Azzurri.

Italy squad
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (SSC Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain FC).

Defenders: Ignazio Abate (AC Milan), Federico Balzaretti (US Città di Palermo), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Christian Maggio (SSC Napoli), Angelo Ogbonna (Torino FC).

Midfielders: Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma), Alessandro Diamanti (Bologna FC), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus) Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (ACF Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain FC), Antonio Nocerino (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus).

Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Manchester City FC), Fabio Borini (AS Roma), Antonio Cassano (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese Calcio), Sebastian Giovinco (FC Parma).