Casadei and Ruggeri earn first call-ups to Italy squad
March 14 (Reuters) - Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei and defender Matteo Ruggeri received their first call-ups to the national team squad when manager Luciano Spalletti named his 25-man list on Friday for next week's Nations League quarter-final against Germany.
Casadei joined Torino last month from Chelsea where he signed as a youth player in 2022, making 11 Premier League appearances while also having loan spells at Reading and Leicester City.
The 22-year-old, who played five Conference League games for Chelsea this season, has featured in Torino's five Serie A matches since his return to Italy, and Spalletti was there to witness his first goal for the club against Monza on March 2.
Ruggeri, also 22, has already made 101 appearances for Atalanta and was named in UEFA's Europa League Team of the Season last term, after helping his side win the trophy. He will provide cover for the injured Federico Dimarco.
The rest of the squad contained few surprises, with Lorenzo Lucca, who has made one substitute appearance for Italy, included amongst the forwards alongside Serie A's two highest scorers this season, Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean.
The only other uncapped player is Fiorentina defender Pietro Comuzzo, who was called up last year but has yet to debut.
Italy host Germany in the first leg on Thursday at San Siro in Milan with the return three days later in Dortmund.
Italy squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris St Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham Hotspur)
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Matteo Ruggeri (Atalanta), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Cesare Casadei (Torino), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Samuele Ricci (Empoli), Nicolo Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United)
Forwards: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Lorenzo Lucca (Udinese), Daniel Maldini (Atalanta), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
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