Gennaro Gattuso Expected To Reintroduce Azzurri Star As Italy Prepare For Crucial World Cup Qualifiers

Italy will take on Estonia and Israel between October 11th-14th and Gennaro Gattuso is reportedly willing to reintroduce Federico Chiesa to the Azzurri squad.

Will Federico Chiesa Return To Italy Squad?

Gattuso is set to announce squad for Italy’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers on Friday 3rd October, as the Azzurri look to take a step further to the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

The Italian manager will wait for the week of European fixtures to conclude, as Juventus face Villarreal, while Inter, Napoli, Roma, Atalanta and Fiorentina are also in action.

This will be Gattuso’s second camp as Azzurri boss and the former Italian international is set to reintroduce Liverpool star, Federico Chiesa, after a recent surge in England.

Chiesa has accumulated 51 caps for the Italian national side, playing a huge part in the nation’s European Championship triumph in 2021 – but has endured a difficult relationship with the Azzurri in recent years.

His last appearance came in June 2024 in the Euros Round of 16 as Italy were beaten 2-0 by Switzerland and Chiesa has not picked up another cap since.

The reasoning behind his absence has been questioned on multiple occasions, but is primarily down to a persistent struggle with injuries and lack of playing time.

Last season, the 27-year-old made just six appearances for Liverpool, tallying 153 minutes across all competitions and looked to be on his way out of Merseyside during the summer transfer window.

However, following the departure of Luis Diaz and tragic passing of Diogo Jota, the Reds opted to keep Chiesa for another season and the Italian has started to show signs of the player fans saw in Serie A.

Chiesa has already matched the minutes he played last season and contributed to four goals in six appearances across all competitions (2G +2A) – catching the eye of Gennaro Gattuso.

Reports from Gazzetta dell Sport have revealed that Gattuso is ready to reintroduce Chiesa to the Italian national team and is also looking at another Premier League star in Destiny Udogie.

The Tottenham Hotspur defender struggled with injury towards the end of last season and has started to make his way back into the starting lineup under Thomas Frank.

Who Will Be In Italy Squad?

Gattuso will not be able to select a host of star players for his second camp, as the Azzuri squad has been hit with multiple injuries during September’s fixtures.

The defensive roster has been hit with a major blow, as Giovanni Leoni suffered a torn ACL during his Liverpool debut and is expect to miss the remainder of this season.

Napoli defender, Alessandro Buongiorno, has also been ruled out of the matches against Estonia and Israel after picking up a thigh injury against Pisa.

Gianluca Scamacca was forced to leave Italy’s camp last time around through injury and is still ruled out, while Giorgio Scalvini will also be unavailable.

The Azzurri clinched a miraculous 5-4 victory over Israel in their latest fixture, thanks to a late Sandro Tonali winner and currently sit second of Group I with nine-points.

Picking up two victories would leave the Azzurri in a strong place to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, something that is a necessity after missing out in 2018 and 2022.

Predicted Italy Squad For October