Overview
- Silvio Baldini, appointed interim coach after Italy missed World Cup qualification, announced a 24-man, predominantly young and largely uncapped squad on May 29 for friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece.
- Gianluigi Donnarumma and Francesco Pio Esposito are the only senior regulars called and Baldini said both could be considered for Italy’s 2028 Olympic plans, with Donnarumma the only senior to volunteer to take part.
- Baldini openly criticised Serie A club leadership for favouring short-term transfers over giving minutes to academy players and urged deep structural reform to protect the pathway from youth teams to the senior side.
- The coach has begun a Coverciano training camp with strict rules on phones, shared rooms and behaviour and will use the two matches as a live evaluation of players he already coached at U21 level.
- The FIGC has not named a permanent successor and Italy’s longer-term Olympic chance depends on the 2027 U21 European Championship, which will determine European qualification and allows Olympic squads to be U23 with three overage players.