Italy call up uncapped duo
Antonio Conte has selected midfielder Daniel Caligiuri and forward Nicola Sansone ahead of Italy's clash with Croatia in Split.
Italy coach Antonio Conte has named uncapped duo Daniel Caligiuri and Nicola Sansone in a 30-man training squad ahead of the Euro 2016 qualifier against Croatia.
Caligiuri has been rewarded after an excellent season with Wolfsburg. The midfielder scored 10 goals to help his club qualify for the UEFA Champions League, as well as lift the DFB-Pokal.
He is joined in the party by Sassulo's Sansone, a German-born forward who has represented Italy at youth level.
Emanuele Giaccherini has been named despite being a bit-part player for Sunderland, while Stephan El Shaarawy is fit to travel to a training retreat at Coverciano which runs from June 2 to June 4.
No Juventus players have been selected due to their involvement in the Champions League final against Barcelona next weekend.
Conte will announce a final squad next Friday or Saturday for the game in Split on June 12. Italy then take on Portugal four days later in a friendly.
Squad in full:
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Goalkeepers: Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Daniele Padelli (Torino), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint -Germain)
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Davide Astori (Roma), Domenico Criscito (Zenit), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Emiliano Moretti (Torino), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter)
Midfielders: Andrea Bertolacci (Genoa), Daniel Caligiuri (Wolfsburg), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Sunderland), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Andrea Poli (Milan), Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria), Mirko Valdifiori (Empoli), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain)
Forwards: Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Stephan El Shaarawy (Milan), Manolo Gabbiadini (Napoli), Ciro Immobile (Borussia Dortmund),Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Alberto Paloschi (Chievo), Graziano Pelle (Southampton), Nicola Sansone (Sassuolo), Franco Vazquez (Palermo), Simone Zaza (Sassuolo)
'David Beckham was desperate to play in my squad, but I didn't want to bring him along and waste the FA’s money: I had to pick the strongest players': Great Britain coach reflects on Becks snub as 'one of the toughest decisions' of his career
Manchester City report: Bruno Guimaraes and Pep Guardiola discussions revealed, as rumours swirl he could replace Rodri