Italian football is undergoing a necessary revamp, with young players being brought in to play under new management. One such player is 2. Bundesliga star Mohamed Ali Zoma, who has been handed his first call-up.
The 22-year-old winger is in Roberto Mancini's first squad of 34 players for the UEFA Nations League games against Belgium, Turkiye, and France between September 25 and October 5.
Zoma's explosive performances under German legend Miroslav Klose at 1. FC Nürnberg have earned him a maiden invitation to the Azzurri.
Mancini previously pledged to bring in young players to the national team, and he has begun to live up to his pledge.
Who is New Italy Invitee Mohamed Ali Zoma?
Mohamed Ali Zoma was born in Merate, Italy, to a Burkinabe father and an Ivorian mother in December 2003.
He was 13 years old when he joined the youth academy of AlbinoLeffe, and was promoted to the first team in 2021, when he turned 18.
He played 116 times for the club in Serie C, Italy's third division, before he decided to move to Germany to play for 1. FC Nürnberg in the summer of 2025 for a €1.5 million fee.
His debut season yielded 14 goals and four assists in 29 appearances in 2. Bundesliga, and he has scored five goals in six appearances for the the club this season.
The 5'9" winger spoke directly with Mancini ahead of accepting his invitation to play for Italy, as he is eligible to play for Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire.
The versatile forward is capable of playing out wide or centrally, where he can play on the shoulder of the last defender and use his blistering pace to his advantage.
Zoma had never been invited by any national team at youth or senior level before Italy came calling, and he is set to play for the Azzurri.
Who Are the New Faces in Roberto Mancini's Squad?
Italy U-21 coach Silvio Baldini invited an almost exclusively U-21 side for the senior national team during his time in interim charge in June.
Mancini has chosen to continue in the same vein, bringing in new new faces to the team for the games later this month.
Nine players may possibly earn their first caps for Italy, including Michael Kayode, Massimo Pessina, Alessandro Romano, Daniele Ghilardi, Issa Doumbia, Sebastiano Esposito, Antonio Vergara, Eddy Kouadio, and Mohamed Ali Zoma.
Also invited for the games is the pair of 18-year-olds Honest Ahanor and Samuele Inacio, both of whom were in the team that prosecuted June's friendly games under Baldini.
Italy Squad for UEFA Nations League
Roberto Mancini has named a 34-man squad to prosecute four games, all in the UEFA Nations League, this month.
Goalkeepers: Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), Massimo Pessina (Bologna), Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus).
Defenders: Honest Ahanor (Crystal Palace), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Diego Coppola (Paris FC), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Daniele Ghilardi (Roma), Michael Kayode (Brentford), Eddy Kouadio (Monza), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta).
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Issa Doumbia (Sporting CP), Nicolò Fagioli (Fiorentina), Davide Frattesi (Lazio), Rolando Mandragora (Torino), Alessandro Romano (Cagliari), Sandro Tonali (Tottenham).
Forwards: Nicolò Cambiaghi (Bologna), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Sebastiano Esposito (Sassuolo), Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund), Moise Kean (Como), Daniel Maldini (Cagliari), Giacomo Raspadori (Atalanta), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Antonio Vergara (Napoli), Nicolò Zaniolo (Udinese), Mohamed Alì Zoma (1. FC Nurnberg).
