Which Italy changes Gattuso could make for Estonia and Israel

BERGAMO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 05: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy during the National anthems prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Estonia at Stadio di Bergamo on September 05, 2025 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

The Italy national team are back together at Coverciano, preparing to take on Estonia and Israel in World Cup qualification over the next week, and CT Gennaro Gattuso will have to make a handful of changes due to injuries and absences. 

Here is what could change for the Azzurri during the October international break. 

Which Italy changes Gattuso could make in October

The Italy national team are in action against Estonia in Tallinn on Friday evening, before hosting Israel in Udine next Tuesday. 

Italy played both of these nations in September, defeating Estonia 5-0 in Bergamo and claiming a 5-4 victory away against Israel, in Hungary. 

Italy squad celebrate against Israel (@Azzurri)

Gattuso has named a squad of 27 players, but has already had to make some personnel changes, with Mattia Zaccagni and Matteo Politano dropping out and Roberto Piccoli and Leonardo Spinazzola coming in to replace them. 

Both Politano and Zaccgni started in a 4-4-2 for September’s 5-0 win over Estonia, while Politano again started in the 5-4 win over Israel, which means that Gattuso will have to make at least one enforced change. 

According to updates from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Gattuso is likely to stick with a back four, and a two-man up front system. What happens in the midfield, however, remains to be seen. 

La Gazzetta dello Sport hypothesizes that Gattuso could effectively make a like-for-like swap, with somebody like Andrea Cambiaso coming in to replace Politano on the right flank. The versatile Juventus full-back is considered the most ‘direct’ option to replace Politano. 

REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – JUNE 9: Andrea Cambiaso of Italy during the FIFA 2026 Qualifier between Italy and Moldova at Mapei Stadium – Citta’ del Tricolore on June 09, 2025 in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Another suggestion is that Gattuso could look to bring in another central midfielder and play slightly more narrowly. An option there is Roma’s Bryan Cristante, who could play alongside Nicolo Barella, Sandro Tonali and Manuel Locatelli in a 4-1-3-2. 

A third option is for Barella or Tonali to play on the right of midfield and bring in an attacking full-back, such as Spinazzola or Destiny Udogie, to play on the left of a four-man unit. The more attacking options in this scenario include Giacomo Raspadori and Davide Frattesi, although they would both have to play out of their natural positions. 

Post navigation