From Wembley Glory to a New Era: Only Six EURO 2020 Heroes Left in Italy's Squad

Just six players remain from the squad that delivered Italy's greatest night of the past decade, as the Azzurri's transformation ahead of the 2026 World Cup reaches its completion, Football Italia reports. When Roberto Mancini's Italy edged out England on penalties at Wembley to lift the EURO 2020 trophy — a tournament played in the summer of 2021 — it marked the crowning achievement of his first spell in charge. Veterans like Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci lifted the trophy, while icons of that campaign such as Marco Verratti, Lorenzo Insigne and Ciro Immobile were at the heart of a national revival. Fast forward to today, and the portrait of the national team has changed almost beyond recognition. According to Football Italia, only half a dozen members of that triumphant squad survive in the current setup, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, midfielder Nicolò Barella, defender Alessandro Bastoni and forward Federico Chiesa among the last men standing from the Wembley celebration. The overhaul reflects both natural evolution and painful necessity. Italy's shock failures to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups forced a reckoning with an aging core, while Mancini's eventual departure opened the door for successive coaching regimes to accelerate the changing of the guard. The likes of Chiellini and Bonucci have retired from international football, and several other Wembley winners have drifted out of the picture as their club careers wound down or moved away from elite European competition. In their place, a new generation has taken charge. The current squad blends emerging talents from Serie A and abroad with the small kernel of EURO 2020 experience, handing the leadership burden to players like Donnarumma and Barella, who have graduated from young stars to established pillars. For Italian fans, the stakes could not be higher. The Azzurri are desperate to end their World Cup exile and finally return to football's biggest stage in 2026, when the tournament expands to 48 teams across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Missing two consecutive World Cups was a national humiliation for a four-time champion, and the dramatic squad turnover represents both risk and opportunity: the new faces lack the scar tissue of past failures, but also the winning pedigree that carried Italy to European glory. As the countdown to 2026 continues, the six remaining Wembley heroes will carry the memory of that triumph — and the responsibility of guiding their new teammates toward ensuring Italy's absence from the World Cup ends next summer. Source: Football Italia