Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 8y

Conte names 30-man Italy squad; Pirlo, Giovinco and Balotelli miss out

Italy coach Antonio Conte has named a 30-man squad for the second phase of his preparations for Euro 2016, with no place for MLS duo Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco or striker Mario Balotelli.

That squad will be reduced to his final selection of 23, to be submitted to UEFA by midnight on May 31, but no further names are now expected to be added for what will be Conte's final squad as Italy boss before taking over at Chelsea after ahead of next season.

There are question marks over the condition of both AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivo and Paris Saint-Germain's Thiago Motta, meaning Conte may only welcome a 28-man squad into training at the Italian FA's training headquarters in Coverciano, near Florence, on Tuesday.

Of the 28-man squad that Conte selected for a training camp last week, only 17 have been retained with the addition of five more Juventus players -- Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Stefano Sturaro and Simone Zaza -- plus PSG's Salvatore Sirigu and Thiago Motta, Manchester United's Matteo Darmian, and Milan's Mattia De Sciglio, Giacomo Bonaventura and Montolivo.

Sturaro, who has yet to make his debut for Italy, is one of the surprise names, while the absence of New York City's Pirlo means his international career is effectively over.

Liverpool striker Balotelli, who has spent the season on loan at Milan, also misses out. Balotelli never played under Conte -- although the 25-year-old was called up once due to pressure from Azzurri sponsors Puma -- but his last actual appearance was at 2014 World Cup, when Italy eliminated at the group stage.

Another forward, Giovinco, was also not included on the longlist despite becoming one of MLS' star players since joining Toronto last year.

Lazio's Federico Marchetti has been included as the third goalkeeper behind Buffon and Sirigu, while West Ham United defender Angelo Ogbonna is one of three Premier League-based players, alongside Darmian and Pelle. Udinese's Italy under-19 goalkeeper Alex Meret has also been called up, but only for training exercises.

Conte will discuss his options at a news conference on Tuesday, ahead of his first training session.

Italy will face Scotland in a friendly this Sunday before Conte decides on his final squad selection for Euro 2016.

Italy's final warm-up game before flying to Montpellier on June 8 comes against Finland in Verona on June 6.

Provisional 30-man Italy squad for Euro 2016

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain)

Defenders: Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Davide Zappacosta (Torino)

Midfielders: Marco Benassi (Torino), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorginho (Napoli), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Stefano Sturaro (Juventus), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma)

Forwards: Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Graziano Pelle (Southampton), Simone Zaza (Juventus)

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