Orsolini, Ricci and Provedel cut as Italy name final Euro 2024 squad
Luciano Spalletti has cut his 29-man Italy squad down to 26 players ahead of Euro 2024, with no major surprises.
Riccardo Orsolini, Samuele Ricci and Ivan Provedel have been cut from Luciano Spalletti's Italy squad for Euro 2024.
Spalletti named a 30-man provisional group last month as Italy bid to become just the second team to win back-to-back editions of the Euros, after Spain in 2008 and 2012.
There was no place for experienced campaigners Ciro Immobile, Manuel Locatelli and Marco Verratti in that group, and the Azzurri have since lost defenders Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini to injury.
Federico Gatti was drafted in to replace the latter after he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee in Atalanta's Serie A defeat to Fiorentina on Sunday.
That left Spalletti needing to cut three more players ahead of Friday's deadline, and Orsolini, Ricci and Provedel are the unfortunate trio.
Lazio goalkeeper Provedel always looked unlikely to make the final squad, with Tottenham's Guglielmo Vicario and Napoli's Alex Meret serving as backup to Gianluigi Donnarumma between the sticks.
Torino midfielder Ricci misses out with the likes of Davide Frattesi, Nicolo Fagiolo and Michael Folorunsho competing with Jorginho, Nicolo Barella, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante.
Orsolini, meanwhile, has been left out despite impressing for Bologna as they finished fourth in Serie A, scoring 10 goals and adding two assists in 33 league appearances in 2023-24.
Final Italy squad: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Nicolo Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).