Conte finetunes Italy squad
Rami called up by France amid doubts over Varane fitness
MILAN, May 23, (Agencies): Italy coach Antonio Conte cut several Euro 2016 hopefuls from a preliminary squad on Monday as he unveiled a 30man squad for the Azzurri’s second pre-competition training camp.
Italy will head to the June 10-July 10 tournament in France looking to reach a second successive final but facing a formidable challenge after failing to get past the first round at the past two editions of the World Cup.
New York City FC midfielder Andrea Pirlo and AC Milan’s on-loan Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli were among the big names missing when Conte named his preliminary squad last week for a first training camp following the conclusion of Serie A and many other leagues around Europe.
It now looks certain that neither player will feature at Euro 2016, where Italy will also be without key midfielder Marco Verratti (Paris SaintGermain) and Claudio Marchisio (Juventus) through injury.
Conte’s squad last week also did not include players from Juventus, AC Milan and other teams who were involved in Cup finals last weekend and they have all returned to the fray.
A statement from the Italian football federation said Conte, who will take over at Premier League giants Chelsea after the summer, will name his final 23-man squad for Euro 2016 on May 31.
Italy host Scotland in a pre-tournament friendly in Malta on Sunday, and then host Finland on June 6 in Verona.
Italy squad for second Euro 2016 training camp:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain/ FRA)
Defenders: Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham/ENG), Daniele Rugani (Juventus)
Midfielders: Marco Benassi (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Napoli), Riccardo Montolivo (AC Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint Germain/ FRA), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Stefano Sturaro (Juventus), Davide Zappacosta (Torino)
Forwards: Citadin Martins Eder (Inter Milan), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Graziano Pelle (Southampton/ENG), Simone Zaza (Juventus)
Sevilla defender Adil Rami has been called up by France coach Didier Deschamps among his list of reserve players for the European Championship after Rapahel Varane picked up a thigh injury.
Varane, who plays for Real Madrid, picked up the injury at training with his club and is doubtful for the tournament starting June
Conte
10 in France.
Belgium’s preparations for next month’s European Championship have suffered a blow with the news that midfielder Radja Nainggolan will be sidelined for two weeks due to a small tear in his calf muscle.
The 28-year-old Roma midfielder is central to Belgium coach Marc Wilmots’ plans and the layoff will keep him out until their final friendly against Norway in Brussels on June 5.
Belgium, who are preparing in Lausanne this week, have a friendly against Switzerland scheduled for Saturday in Geneva and a warm-up against Finland in Brussels on June 1.
Their first match of Euro 2016 is against Italy in Lyon on June 13. Belgium’s other Group E opponents are Ireland and Sweden.
“It’s not that great,” Wilmots said. “Normally he would be out for two weeks, but Radja is recovering very quickly.”
Wilmots also called up Lauren Ciman of Montreal Impact on Sunday as cover in defence.
Captain Vincent Kompany has been ruled out of the tournament, as had Bjorn Engels of Club Bruges but he has since been given a lifeline and could return to training next week.
Wales manager Chris Coleman has signed a two-year contract extension, the Football Association of Wales announced Monday. There had been uncertainty over the future of Coleman, who has guided Wales to next month’s European Championships in France.
But he has now signed a new deal that will include the qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
“I’m delighted that we’ve come to an agreement so I have the honour of leading my country in another campaign — a World Cup campaign,” said Coleman. “We need to build on what we have achieved and I’m looking forward to the challenge. “It is a big challenge, but one I think we can conquer. I’m honoured to be in charge of Wales for two more years.”
Coleman succeeded the late Gary Speed, a fellow former Wales international, in January 2012.
Russia midfielder Alan Dzagoev will miss out on Euro 2016 after breaking a bone in his foot playing for CSKA Moscow, the Russian Football Union (RFU) said on its website (www.rfs.ru) on Sunday.
Krasnodar’s Dmitri Torbinski, 32, has been called up to replace the 25-year-old Dzagoev, who broke a metatarsal during CSKA’s 1-0 win over Rubin Kazan on Saturday as he helped the club win the Russian Premier League title.