Chiellini and Bonucci enter Italy's call; Balotelli out

Rome, 18 Mar The Italian coach, Roberto Mancini, released this Friday the list of 33 players who will compete in the important matches of the Qatar 2022 World Cup playoff, which includes the recently recovered Giorgio Chiellini and the still injured Leonardo Bonucci, while striker Mario Balotelli, summoned in the last rally, falls off the list. Italy and Mancini play it. This Thursday, March 24, they will have to overcome the first hurdle, North Macedonia, in Palermo (Italy), to attend a World Cup event that they have already missed in 2018. If they win, they will face each other on March 29 against the Portugal-Turkey winner to get the final ticket to the World Cup. For this momentous week of the European champion, Mancini maintains much of the block and leaves out Balotelli, who she called to play in the previous FIFA match window in January but which seems not enough to convince the coach. There will be, however, the defenders Chiellini and Bonucci of Juventus, although they do not reach one hundred percent. Chiellini recovered from his injury this week and didn't even play Villarreal in the Champions League, but everything suggests that he will have minutes against Salernitana in Serie A to gain competition pace. Bonucci, on the other hand, is not recovered and, according to local media, the coach's plan would be to reserve him against Macedonia and that he could be ready in a hypothetical final of repechage. Notable names such as Lazio defender Luis Felipe and Cagliari striker Joao Pedro, who receive their first call with the national team. In addition, Mancini summons Manuel Locatelli, from Juventus, positive for covid-19 and who will join as soon as he overcomes his recovery process. FULL LIST GOALKEEPERS: Cragno (Cagliari/ITA), Donnarumma (PSG/FRA), Gollini (Tottenham/ING), Sirigu (Genoa/ITA). DEFENSES: Verdi (Salernitana/ITA), Bastoni (Inter Milan/ITA), Biraghi (Fiorentina/ITA), Bonucci, Chiellini (Juventus/ITA), Emerson (Olympique de Lyon/ITA), Di Lorenzo (Naples/ITA) Florenzi (Milan/ITA), Luiz Felipe (Lazio/ITA), Mancina/ITA I (Rome/ITA). MIDFIELDERS: Barella (Inter Milan/ITA), Jorginho (Chelsea/ITA), Locatelli (Juventus/ITA), Pellegrini, Cristante (Rome/ITA), Pessina (Atalanta/ITA), Sensi (Sampdoria/ITA), Tonali (Milan/ITA), Verratti (PSG/ITA). FRONT: Belotti (Torino/ITA), Berardi, Scamacca, Raspadori (Sassuolo/ITA) Immobile, Zaccagni (Lazio/ITA), Insigne, Politano, (Naples/ITA), Joao Pedro (Cagliari/ITA), Zaniolo (Rome/ITA). CHIEF tfc/ism