Football Italia can confirm that Udinese forward Nicolò Zaniolo has withdrawn from the Italy squad for personal reasons, temporarily ending hopes of his return to the national team after a two-year absence.
Zaniolo’s Udinese revival
The 27-year-old plays for Udinese and has rebuilt his career there. He scored six goals and provided five assists last season for Udinese, earning a contract extension until 2029. Zaniolo returned from injury on 25 October and scored in each of his first three games back.
His previous Italy appearance
Zaniolo has not played for Italy since the friendly win over Ecuador in March 2024, when he was at Aston Villa.
The call-up background
Zaniolo’s return to the national team was one of the main talking points of Roberto Mancini’s squad announcement. Mancini was the coach who first called Zaniolo up in 2019, before Zaniolo had made his Serie A debut.
Italy’s upcoming fixtures
Italy face France in the Nations League at San Siro on Thursday at 20:45 CET, or 19:45 GMT. Italy will travel to Brussels to play Belgium on Sunday. It is not yet clear whether Mancini will call up a replacement for Zaniolo.
