Chelsea pair Jorginho and Emerson were named to a 27-man squad ahead of the November FIFA dates, which includes a matchup against the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Some regulars also made the squad, including defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci and winger Lorenzo Insigne, but the squad also features youngsters such as Inter winger Matteo Politano, German-born Vincenzo Grifo of Hoffenheim and 18-year-old Brescia midfielder Sandro Tonali.
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#Nazionale 🇮🇹
— Nazionale Italiana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) November 9, 2018
Il Ct #Mancini convoca 27 calciatori per le gare contro 🇵🇹#Portogallo e
🇺🇸 #USA: prima chiamata per #Sensi, #Tonali e #Grifo.
L'articolo 👉🏻 https://t.co/BcW3U1C3wp#Azzurri #ItaPor #ItaUSA #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/BGeTpCMPAV
Italy will face Portugal at the San Siro on November 17 in UEFA Nations League action, followed by the match against the USMNT three days later in Genk, Belgium. It will be interesting to see if Italy manager Roberto Mancini rests some of his veterans against the U.S., which will field a younger squad, to blood some of his youngsters in the friendly. It could be a barometer of where this young U.S. side is against a historic European power’s fellow young players.
In terms of the Premier League, Jorginho has quickly settled in to life in the Premier League with 11 league starts for Chelsea since joining this past summer. The 26-year-old is the playmaker of the side and the link between defense and attack. Emerson meanwhile has yet to feature this season in the Premier League, though he’s played five times for Chelsea between the UEFA Europa League and League Cup.
Interestingly, both players are Brazilian-born, although their international allegiance is now to Italy. Both players are of Italian descent.