Defending champions Italy reveal 30-man squad ahead of UEFA Euro 2024

Gianluca Scamacca has earned a spot in Italy's preliminary team for UEFA Euro 2024 following a stellar season, according to coach Luciano Spalletti's announcement on Thursday.

Spalletti chose striker Scamacca after he scored 11 goals and set up an additional four across all competitions from the beginning of March, guiding Atalanta to a historic UEFA Europa League victory on Wednesday. Spalletti dropped the 25-year-old for Italy's March friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador after he railed against footballers "playing on the PlayStation until four in the morning," which was generally understood as a dig at Scamacca.

Spalletti has chosen the in-form Scamacca in a bid to address Italy's long-standing striker shortage. Ciro Immobile, an inconsistent player who played a key role in Italy's Euro victory three years ago, has been dropped. Should Scamacca spearhead the line for Italy, he will be joined by Juventus superstar Federico Chiesa, whose colleague Nicolo Fagioli is an unexpected inclusion in the midfield after missing practically the whole season.

Fagioli completed his first Juventus appearance after October on Monday, after serving a seven-month ban for betting on football matches.The gambling scandal has surely meant that the Newcastle United defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali would not be on the plane to the Euros, which is set to begin on June 14.

Taking look at Italy’s preliminary 30-man squad ahead of UEFA Euro 2024

Goalkeepers:  Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham Hotspur), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli)

Defenders: Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta), Francesco Acerbi (Inter Milan), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus)

Midfielders:  Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Verona)

Forwards: Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli),