Why Mancini dropped five players who featured in Italy’s 0-2 defeat to Belgium

Five players who participated in Italy's 2-0 loss to Belgium on Friday will not travel to Turkey. Coach Roberto Mancini is rotating the squad to manage a dense schedule.

Nicolò Barella, Diego Coppola, Gianluca Mancini, Daniel Maldini, and Mohamed Ali Zoma are among the ten Italy players staying in Coverciano. They will not be available for Monday's Nations League game against Turkey.

This group of ten will follow a dedicated training program at the national team's facility, overseen by some of Mancini’s staff, including former striker Massimo Maccarone.

The Nations League rules limit squad lists to 23 players. Nicolò Zaniolo had already withdrawn due to fitness issues on Saturday, requiring Mancini to make ten further cuts.

The list of players excluded from the next match includes five who played against Belgium. Three of these players started the game. This selection reflects Mancini's intent to rotate his squad during a busy international break, as reported by Sky Sport.

Italy resumed training on Saturday following Friday evening's defeat by Belgium. As is standard practice, players involved in the match did not train on the pitch the following day.

Barella, Coppola, and Gianluca Mancini started against Belgium. However, only the Roma defender played the full 90 minutes. Maldini and Zoma were substituted in during the second half.

The remaining players unavailable for the match against Turkey are Ahanor, who was an unused substitute against Belgium, Samuele Inacio, Eddy Kouadio, Massimo Pessina, and Samuele Ricci. The latter group had already been excluded from the previous 23-man squad.

Alessandro Bastoni rejoins the squad for the Turkey game after serving a one-match suspension.

Today's training session in Turkey presents Mancini with his sole opportunity to finalize his starting lineup for tomorrow's match against Vincenzo Montella's team.

The Italian squad has arrived in Bursa, Turkey. Following training, one player will join Mancini for a pre-match press conference this afternoon.

After the game against Turkey on Monday, September 28, the Azzurri will visit France on Friday, October 2. They will then face Turkey again in Bologna on Monday, October 5.