Italy call up Quagliarella

By Football Italia staff

Sampdoria veteran Fabio Quagliarella has been called up to a two-day Italy training camp ahead of next month’s Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Although not an official squad, Quagliarella is selected by an Italy CT for the first time since October 2015, while the striker’s last cap came five years before that.

The 36-year-old is Serie A’s top goalscorer, having already netted 16 times for high-flying Samp this season.

Quagliarella is joined at the camp by teenagers Nicolo Zaniolo, Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean, all of whom have already been called up by CT Roberto Mancini.

There are also inclusions for several new faces, including Parma pair Alessandro Bastoni and Roberto Inglese, plus Torino defender Armando Izzo – who was given a six-month ban for match-fixing in 2017 – and newly-fit Milan full-back Andrea Conti.

However, no foreign-based players have been summoned due to scheduling conflicts, as is the case for those plying their trades at Frosinone, Lazio, Cagliari and Atalanta, all of whom play on Monday.

The exception to the rule is Nicolo Barella, who is suspended for Cagliari’s match against Atalanta.

The training camp will take place at Coverciano between next Monday and Tuesday, ahead of the Azzurri’s qualifiers against Finland and Liechtenstein on March 23 and 26 respectively.

Italy squad for training camp in full:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)

Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Parma), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Andrea Conti (Milan), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Armando Izzo (Torino), Manuel Lazzari (SPAL), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan), Leonardo Spinazzola (Juventus)

Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Cagliari), Marco Benassi (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Sassuolo), Sandro Tonali (Brescia), Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma)

Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Roberto Inglese (Parma), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Juventus), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Matteo Politano (Inter), Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)

Should Italy be looking at 36-year-old Serie A top scorer Fabio Quagliarella? Yes - age is only a number No - he's too old!

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