Napoli midfielder Michael Folorunsho, currently on loan at Hellas Verona, has been named to the Italian national team’s 30-man provisional squad list released on Thursday for this summer’s European Championship.
The 26-year-old, born in Italy to Nigerian parents, has scored five goals and provided one assist in 35 Serie A matches this season, including finding the back of the net against Juventus and Roma.
Folorunsho, currently Verona’s joint second-top scorer this season with one goal behind Belgium’s Cyril Ngonge, has helped Verona to 13th place in the Italian top-flight this season, four spots higher than they were last season.
Luciano Spalletti’s provisional 30-player #Azzurri squad ahead of #EURO2024 🇮🇹 💙 #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/XgVxGy5MLv
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) May 23, 2024
Folorunsho is joined on the list by Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Inter Milan duo Nicolo Barella and Federico Dimarco, Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Arsenal’s Jorginho, and Atalanta’s Europa League-winning forward Gianluca Scamacca.
The defending champions, Italy, are expected to cut four players off the list to trim the squad down to 26 players before the competition kicks off.
The Azzurri are drawn in Group B alongside 2012 European Championship winner Spain, as well as Croatia and Albania. They will begin their title defense against the Red and Blacks of Albania at Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park on June 15.
ITALY’S FULL PROVISIONAL SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham)
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Inter Milan), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino)
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
