Italy's 24-man squad for upcoming friendlies is going viral as fans make same point

Italy's interim coach Silvio Baldini has named an experimental 24-man squad for upcoming friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece after the Azzurri missed out on World Cup qualification.

Having failed to reach the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, Italy became the first former winners to miss out on three consecutive World Cups back in April.

The four-time world champions failed to qualify after a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat against Bosnia-Herzegovina and not long after, an emotional Gennaro Gattuso resigned from his role as manager.

The decline of the Italian national team, who were once at the very top of international football after winning the 2006 World Cup, has been linked to a lack of youth development.

"We didn't put enough faith in promising young players, and clubs invested too little in long-term planning," said Marco Amelia, who lifted the trophy in 2006.

Two decades on and ahead of friendlies in June against Luxembourg and Greece, Silvio Baldini has done what many coaches have failed to do in the past – promote the next generation of young stars.

Silvio Baldini's squad list for our friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece 📋#Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/dGAqKDQ67t

— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) May 25, 2026

In fact, Baldini has picked a squad that has an average age of just 20 years and six months, with the highly-rated Francesco Camarda, 18, featuring alongside Francesco Pio Esposito and Davide Bartesaghi.

A large number of players have been given their first senior call-up, including Borussia Dortmund teenager Samuele Inacio, but Brentford full-back Michael Kayode has been left out, to the surprise of many.

Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma, meanwhile, has volunteered to lead the youthful squad.

Fans react to Italy's latest squad as announcement post goes viral

Plenty of fans reacted to Italy's recent squad announcement on social media, with the majority mentioning how many names they recognised.

One fan commented on the list, saying: "If you remove Donnarumma there is a 99'99% chance that you don't know a single person on this list," and another wrote: "Couldn't you get the licenses for the player names?"

A third said: "Baldini went a bit overboard, but it benefits the U21 to have them all together in the senior team. Only Donnarumma, Palestra, and Pio survive."

A fourth wrote: "Bro actually called up all the U21s. Fairs," and a fifth added: "I don’t know a single player on this list except Donnarumma."

Italy's latest 24-man squad in full

Goalkeepers: Giovanni Daffara (Avellino), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Lorenzo Palmisani (Frosinone);

Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Atalanta), Davide Bartesaghi (Milan), Fabio Chiarodia (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Costantino Favasuli (Catanzaro), Filippo Mane (Borussia Dortmund), Marco Palestra (Cagliari), Luca Reggiani (Borussia Dortmund);

Midfielders: Matteo Dagasso (Venezia), Giacomo Faticanti (Juventus), Luca Lipani (Sassuolo), Cher Ndour (Fiorentina), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Lorenzo Venturino (Roma);

Forwards: Francesco Camarda (Lecce), Luigi Cherubini (Sampdoria), Jeff Ekhator (Genoa), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Seydou Fini (Frosinone), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Luca Koleosho (Paris FC).