Zaniolo back from Italy exile, De Rossi misses out on Rome return

Higly-rated young talent Zaniolo, 20, was dropped by Mancini for last month's Group J wins over Armenia and Finland which mean 'Azzurri' can qualify for next summer's tournament with a win over Greece in Rome on Saturday.

With two teams qualifying from the group, they are six points ahead of second-placed Finland and nine from Armenia in third.

Italy travel to bottom side Liechtenstein on Tuesday.

Zaniolo and Moise Kean were dropped for Italy's final group game during the summer's Under-21 tournament, held in their home country, after arriving late for a video session and Mancini decided to extend the punishment for September's matches.

Kean has not made the squad after an underwhelming start to his career at Premier League side Everton.

Also missing out is Boca Juniors midfielder Daniele De Rossi, who will not take the field at his former home of the Stadio Olimpico against Greece after not being called up by Mancini.

De Rossi retired from international football after the play-off against Sweden that cost Italy qualification for the 2018 World Cup, but Italian media had suggested he would make an emotional return in the Italian capital, where he played with Roma for nearly two decades.

Napoli full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo gets his first call up to the senior side following news on Friday that Roma's Davide Zappacosta ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Italy squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Pierluigi Gollini (Atalanta), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Cristiano Biraghi (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Danilo D'Ambrosio (Inter Milan), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Armando Izzo (Torino), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Alessio Romagnoli (AC Milan), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma)

Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea/ENG), Stefano Sensi (Inter Milan), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma)

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenhua/CHN), Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg/GER), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)