Uefa Nations League finalists Belgium, France, Italy and Spain name squads for tournament climax
Belgium, France, Italy and Spain have all named their 23-man squads for the UEFA Nations League finals. These squads have been confirmed by UEFA following the 23:59 CET deadline on Thursday 30 September.
Should a listed player become seriously injured or ill before his team’s first match in the finals, he may only be substituted if a doctor from the UEFA Medical Committee and the team doctor concerned both confirm that the injury or illness is sufficiently serious to prevent the player from taking part in the tournament.
Subject to the final approval of the UEFA administration, this injured or ill player may be replaced on the list of 23 players registered for participation in the finals. Any subsequent changes, because of injury or illness, will be reflected below.
Belgium
Roberto Martínez, Belgium coach: “Hans Vanaken is probably in the best form of his career. [Charles] De Ketelaere is profiting from the absences of (Jérémy) Doku and [Dries] Mertens: this is a great opportunity for him. He deserves this selection. (Christian) Benteke is unlucky that I can only select 20 outfield players. With Michy [Batshuayi], Romelu [Lukaku], Dodi [Lukebakio] and Charles [De Ketelaere], I have plenty of options up front. Christian has done nothing wrong and will continue to play a role in the future.”
Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (al-Duhail), Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin), Timothy Castagne (Leicester), Jason Denayer (Lyon), Thomas Meunier (Dortmund), Jan Vertonghen (Benfica).
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Man. City), Leander Dendoncker (Wolves), Thorgan Hazard (Dortmund MG), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Youri Tielemans (Leicester), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Dortmund).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Beşiktaş), Yannick Carrasco (Atlético Madrid), Charles De Ketelaere (Club Brugge), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea), Dodi Lukebakio (Wolfsburg), Leandro Trossard (Brighton).
France
Didier Deschamps, France coach: “[EURO 2020] is behind us now. There’s a trophy up for grabs; a semi-final against one of the best teams in the world [Belgium]. We gave our all to get here from a very competitive group. We want this trophy. In the past, there were two international titles, the EURO and the World Cup. There are now three with the Nations League, and we want to win it.”
Goalkeepers: Benoît Costil (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Mike Maignan (AC Milan).
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Everton), Léo Dubois (Lyon), Lucas Hernández (Bayern), Theo Hernández (AC Milan), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Jules Koundé (Sevilla), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern), Raphaël Varane (Manchester United).
Midfielders: Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurélien Tchouaméni (Monaco), Jordan Veretout (Roma).
Forwards: Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Moussa Diaby (Leverkusen), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid), Anthony Martial (Man. United), Kylian Mbappé (PSG).
Italy
Roberto Mancini, Italy coach: “The team is in good form. We hope to have a good semi-final and, if possible, also a good final. The four best European teams are here. The Nations League is important to us. It’s not only the players who won the European Championship that will have a chance to play. Why was Nicolò Zaniolo was not included in the squad? It was a technical decision. He is still young and will certainly be an important player for us in the future.”
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa).
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson (Lyon), Rafael Tolói (Atalanta).
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Marco Verratti (Paris).
Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo).
Spain
Luis Enrique, Spain coach: “The goal is to be champions and that’s what we’re going for. [Italy] are at the top of their game. They were deserved [EURO 2020] winners. They’ve gone 38 matches unbeaten but, as our psychologist says, they’re getting closer to defeat every day. It’s an incentive for us to be the ones who beat the European champions. They are very similar to Spain in their style of play.”
Goalkeepers: David de Gea (Manchester United), Robert Sánchez (Brighton), Unai Simón (Athletic)
Defenders: Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Eric García (Barcelona), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Iñigo Martínez (Athletic), Pedro Porro (Sporting CP), Sergio Reguilón (Tottenham), Pau Torres (Villarreal).
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Pablo Fornals (West Ham), Gavi (Barcelona), Koke (Atlético), Marcos Llorente (Atlético), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Pedri (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City).
Forwards: Yeremi Pino (Villarreal), Pablo Sarabia (Sporting CP), Ferran Torres (Manchester City).
The semi-final fixtures will be played on October 6 and 7 with Italy facing off against Spain in the first semi-final match before Belgium and France will fight for the remaining ticket to the final a day later. The final will be played on the evening of October 10, hours after the 3rd place play-off.
By: Elisha Aberiganya | Follow us on Twitter @activtvgh
