10 Italy fringe players Gattuso could call in for World Cup play-offs

The Italy national team are heading for the World Cup play-offs for the third cycle in a row, which leaves Gennaro Gattuso with several big decisions to make ahead of the crucial one-off fixtures coming up in March. 

Here is a look at the players who could be called up to the Azzurri squad for the play-offs. 

Italy had to settle for second place in Group I of UEFA’s World Cup qualifying, finishing on 18 points from eight games with six wins and two losses (both against Norway) over that period. Erling Haaland and his compatriots topped the group with a 100% win record, finishing their campaign with a 4-1 win over the Azzurri in San Siro on Sunday night. 

Next up on the agenda for the Italy national team is the play-off draw, which will take place at FIFA’s headquarters in Switzerland on Thursday, beginning at 12.00 GMT (13.00 CET). 

Italy are a top seed and will be drawn against one of the lower-ranked sides in the one-legged play-off semi-finals on March 26. Should they win that match, they will progress to the play-off finals on March 31, which, again, will be a single-legged affair. 

Given that there are no international breaks before the play-offs begin, the FIGC are looking at ways for the Italy national team squad to get together informally before then in order to better their chances of qualifying.

Gattuso called up a list of 27 players for the November international break, but did make a couple of alterations following the withdrawals of Moise Kean and Nicolo Cambiaghi. 

It is unlikely that Gattuso leaves out any major names from the November squad: The likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Barella are all guarantees. 

There were, however, several useful players in Serie A and beyond that were left out and could potentially be in with a chance of being called up in March. 

In defence, that includes the likes of Federico Gatti of Juventus, who was not included in November, and should he be fit, Atalanta’s Giorgio Scalvini. 

As per Corriere dello Sport, Gattuso could be tempted into picking Atalanta youngster Marco Palestra, currently on loan at Cagliari, if he is in need of another option at right back or right wing-back. Leonardo Spinazzola could be an option on the left. 

Nicolo Rovella, assuming that he is back in time from his surgery, could be an option to bolster Italy’s options in midfield. 

In attack, there has still been no call-up for Federico Chiesa: He has not played for Italy since EURO 2024, despite his promising form, albeit in glimpses, for Liverpool at the start of the 2025-26 season. 

Another option that has been in fine form at the start of this campaign is Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi, who has come up with four goals and three assists from his nine Serie A appearances this term. 

Nicolo Zaniolo has also been on decent form over the last few weeks with three goals from his last five outings in the league. 

And while Italy’s options at centre-forward are fairly solid with Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Francesco Pio Esposito as things stand, there could potentially be call-ups for the likes of Lorenzo Lucca or Roberto Piccoli should either of them hit form heading into March.