Inter Milan quartet Matteo Darmian, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella, and Federico Dimarco are all set to start for Italy against Ecuador in tomorrow evening’s friendly match.
This according to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews.
The current Italian national team has a strong core of Inter players.
There is one notable absence from the current Azzurri squad. That is of defender Francesco Acerbi, who left the national team training camp due to an ongoing investigation into alleged racial abuse of Napoli’s Juan Jesus.
But there are still five other Inter players currently with the Italy squad for the international break.
These are defenders Darmian and Bastoni, midfielders Barella and Davide Frattesi, and wingback Dimarco.
Darmian, Bastoni, Barella & Dimarco To Start For Italy Vs Ecuador
And according to Sky, four of those Inter players are not just part of the squad – they will be in the starting eleven.
Italy coach Luciano Spalletti is firming up his ideas about what he wants his team to look like at the Euros this summer.
The start of the tournament is only a couple of months away now.
And in tomorrow’s friendly match against Ecuador, Spalletti will test out a lineup with four Nerazzurri players.
The former Inter, Napoli, and Roma coach will use a 3-4-2-1 formation. That is similar to the 3-5-2 shape that the Nerazzurri play with under Simone Inzaghi.
That will mean that there is a place for both Bastoni and Darmian in the back three, playing either side of Roma’s GIanluca Mancini.
Then, on the left flank, Dimarco will play the same role that he does for his club.
And in midfield, it will be Barella starting. The 27-year-old former Cagliari midfielder had also been a regular starter for Italy at the last Euros.
The Azzurri won that tournament. Inter midfielder Barella started in the final against England.
