Italy faces depleted Turkey in Bologna as Nations League Group A1 campaign continues

Group standings and Bologna fixture

Italy hosts Turkey on Monday evening at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna for the fourth round of Group A1 in the UEFA Nations League. The match kicks off at 20:45 CET, officiated by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak in front of an estimated crowd of 27,000 spectators out of a 31,000 stadium capacity. Italy enters the encounter in third place with four points, trailing France with seven points and Belgium with six points, while Turkey remains at the bottom of the table with zero points after three consecutive defeats. A victory would allow Roberto Mancini's team to maintain pressure on the top two positions before November fixtures against Belgium in Brussels and France in Milan.

Italy squad rotation and young prospects

Mancini finalized a 23-man matchday roster following a demanding schedule of four international fixtures across eleven days. Striker Moise Kean left the training camp because of a tibia injury, joining Bryan Cristante, Federico Dimarco, Nicolò Zaniolo, and Giacomo Raspadori on the sidelines. The head coach omitted seven players from the final list, including Samuele Ricci, Rolando Mandragora, Massimo Pessina, Daniele Ghilardi, Diego Coppola, Eddy Kouadio, and Mohamed Alì Zoma. Cagliari midfielder Alessandro Romano returns to the squad, while Napoli winger Antonio Vergara and Sporting CP midfielder Issa Doumbia contend for starting roles. Borussia Dortmund forward Samuele Inacio, born in 2008, begins the match on the substitutes bench with the prospect of making an appearance during the second half.

It seems exhausting to me, especially for the players. We can do better.

Turkish absences and team momentum

Turkey manager Vincenzo Montella faces significant personnel shortages as his squad seeks its first points in League A following a 3-0 defeat against Belgium and a 4-1 loss to Italy in Bursa. Forwards Arda Güler and Barış Alper Yılmaz serve suspensions for accumulated yellow cards and have already departed the camp. Turkey is also without key players Kenan Yıldız, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Orkun Kökçü due to unavailability, leaving the team with a goal difference of one scored and eight conceded across three matches. Despite Turkey's poor run of form, Mancini urged his squad to maintain discipline and avoid complacency on home turf.

The mistake would be thinking that the match against Turkey is a simple match. Thinking this would be a huge mistake: we have to approach the match well.

Federation backdrop ahead of CONI decision

The fixture takes place one day before the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) convenes on Tuesday to examine the validity of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) presidential elections held on 22 June 2026. The institutional review concerns registration irregularities surrounding FIGC president Giovanni Malagò, which could theoretically lead to the federation being placed under administrative management. Malagò previously appointed Mancini to lead the national team rebuilding process, but the manager dismissed concerns about potential disruption to his squad. Mancini stated that discussions regarding federation administration were scheduled after this international window to keep the players focused on the pitch.