Italy: 4 African gems “snatched” by Roberto Mancini

Roberto Mancini has announced his first squad since resuming his duties as head coach of the Italian national football team. The Italian manager has called up 34 players, 4 of whom could have opted to represent African teams.

Honest Ahanor (Nigeria)

The 18-year-old defender, born in Italy, is of Nigerian descent. He decided to play for the Azzurri instead of wearing the Super Eagles jersey.

Already called up by Italy last June, he played one minute against Luxembourg (0-1) and 45 minutes against Luxembourg under interim manager Silvio Baldini, who had already shown faith in him with the U21s.

Honest Ahanor is on loan at Crystal Palace from Atalanta Bergamo and will play for Chelsea’s Blues from 2027. He has made 3 appearances this season.

Eddy Kouadio (Ivory Coast)

The 20-year-old Monza centre-back is of Ivorian descent. Born in Prato, he has just been called up by Roberto Mancini to play for Italy.

Developed at Fiorentina, he is on loan at Monza, where he has played 6 matches, including 4 in Serie A and 2 in the Coppa Italia.

Issa Doumbia (Ivory Coast)

Another Ivorian will not play for the Elephants. The 22-year-old central midfielder will represent Italy. He was sold by Venezia to Sporting CP for a fee of €20 million.

Issa Doumbia has made 7 appearances for his Portuguese club, including 6 in Liga Portugal and 1 in the UEFA Champions League.

Mohamed Alì Zoma (Ivory Coast)

A dual national, the 22-year-old forward will represent Italy, although he could have played for Ivory Coast. Born in Merate, he joined Bundesliga 2 club FC Nürnberg from UC AlbinoLeffe. He has scored 5 goals in 5 matches in the German second division this season.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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