Italy recall Chiesa for World Cup play-off fixtures

Federico Chiesa. Pic/AP, PTI

Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa has been called up by Italy for the first time in almost two years for the upcoming World Cup playoffs, with the Azzurri desperate to avoid missing a third consecutive edition.

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso named a 28-man squad on Friday. The four-time World Cup champion needs to beat Northern Ireland in the playoffs on Thursday in Bergamo and then Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away - five days later - to avoid going at least 16 years without playing a match at soccer's biggest event.

Chiesa, who helped Italy win the European Championship in 2021, made the last of his 51 international appearances at Euro 2024, in the loss to Switzerland in the round of 16.

He left Juventus for Liverpool in August 2024 but has struggled for playing time, making just one Premier League start this season. Chiesa had begun his career at Fiorentina.

The 28-year-old forward has established himself as a fan favorite at Liverpool due to his high-energy workrate and passionate attitude.

Cagliari defender Marco Palestra was named in the Italy squad for the first time. Atalanta defender Giorgio Scalvini and Roma midfielder Niccolo Pisilli return after almost two-year absences.

Italy was eliminated in the playoffs by Sweden before the 2018 World Cup and by North Macedonia in 2022.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever