Italy get their 2026-27 Nations League campaign underway with a visit from Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday evening, and the majority of the pre-match reports on Thursday agree that there are two personnel doubts ahead of Roberto Mancini’s second Azzurri debut.

Mancini, who was called back in for a second spell in charge of the Italy national team following the departure of Gennaro Gattuso earlier this year, has named a squad of 34 players ahead of an extra-long international break that will see Italy take on Belgium, Turkiye (twice) and France over the coming weeks.

There have already been a pair of alterations to the squad , with Federico Dimarco and Bryan Cristante dropping out through injury and Matteo Ruggeri and Samuele Ricci being called up to replace them.

It is widely expected that Mancini will go with a back four against Belgium, most likely in a 4-3-3, although there have been some suggestions that he could opt for a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-2-3-1.

The majority of Thursday’s pre-match reports agree that it will be a back four consisting of Napoli’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Roma’s Gianluca Mancini, Paris FC’s Diego Coppola and Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori, with captain Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.

Most outlets in Italy are also in agreement over Mancini’s midfield selections, that it is likely to be Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Barella in the channels, accompanied by debutant Alessandro Romano in the deep-lying role.

The two line-up doubts are in attack: Inter’s Pio Esposito is in line to start, but it remains to be seen who will join him.

The Corriere dello Sport predicts that it will be a combination of Nicolo Zaniolo and Giacomo Raspadori supporting Esposito at centre-forward.