Spalletti recalls Locatelli for Ricci in the national team and explains why he was left out of the squad
Manuel Locatelli returns to the national team after his sensational exclusion from the squad for the European Championships and the subsequent Nations League matches. Spalletti calls him up to replace the injured Ricci and explains the reasons for his exclusions.
Manuel Locatelli returns to the national team after his sensational exclusion from the squad for the European Championships and a subsequent period in which CT Luciano Spalletti had still decided not to include him in his list despite the positive performances between the league and the Champions League of the Juventus midfielder . Spalletti himself announced it in the press conference preceding the Azzurri’s next commitments for the Nations League matches against Belgium (Thursday 14 in Brussels) and France (Sunday 17 at San Siro) to close the group in the best possible way. A point is enough for the quarter-finals and to become top seed in the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
An important event that will therefore see Locatelli as the protagonist again, who has not worn the blue jersey since March 2024, that is, since the match against Ecuador that preceded his exclusion from the squad for the European Championships. “Ricci is going home because we have started this relationship with the clubs and if a player risks getting hurt we don’t take him – Spalletti said in a press conference -. It would have been very difficult to recover him for the first match, then he would have had to grit his teeth. For the first match we need two midfielders and so he goes home and another one comes”. At that point the CT is asked for his name: “Locatelli is coming, he will already be here for dinner”.
Manuel Locatelli with the Juventus shirt.
An almost obligatory choice for Spalletti who clearly could no longer exclude Locatelli who has become essential for Juventus in Thiago Motta’s game . The CT, anticipating the journalists’ questions, explains the reason for this decision and the one that took the Juventus midfielder out of the squad: “As midfielders there are Rovella and Locatelli who are doing very well, both of them – he explains -. I didn’t bring Locatelli criticizing that he was missing some things, today instead I’m taking him with me. Rovella deserved the national team. If they are at the level of the others we will evaluate after the match, but let’s let them play”.
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