Only weeks after their European Championship triumph, Roberto Mancini's Italy are back in World Cup qualifying action this week - starting with Thursday's visit of Bulgaria.

To cater for a hectic schedule of three games in six days, the Azzurri coach initially called up 34 players to represent the nation which, incidentally, are unbeaten in 34 competitive games.

Twenty-five of the 26 players who featured at the Euros will be present in Florence, with only long-term injury victim Leonardo Spinazzola missing out as he continues his long path to recovery from a ruptured Achilles.

However, Spinazzola's highly-regarded Roma colleague Nicolo Zaniolo returns after suffering two ACL tears in consecutive years and Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca has received a first senior call-up, having impressed on loan at Genoa last term and with the Under-21s.

Though Andrea Belotti withdrew earlier this week due to a minor injury, the Torino captain's departure will not result in much disruption, as Mancini has first-choice centre-forward Ciro Immobile, recent Juventus re-signing Moise Kean, plus the Sassuolo pair of Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori available to select from up front.

Confirmed as Milan's new captain this summer, full-back Davide Calabria has been called up as cover for the injured Manuel Lazzari at right-back, but remains behind Giovanni Di Lorenzo and possibly even Alessandro Florenzi in the pecking order.

Due to the nature of the rapid-fire fixture list, it remains to be seen whether Mancini will hold some of his big guns in reserve for the crucial clash with Switzerland, as only the top team progresses automatically to the finals in Qatar next year. Therefore, some of the squad's more senior citizens - such as skipper Giorgio Chiellini - may be spared duty on Thursday evening.

Italy possible starting lineup: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Chiellini, Bonucci, Emerson; Verratti, Jorginho, Barella; Insigne, Immobile, Chiesa

Written by
Jonathan O'Shea