If the European Championships were won based on the brilliance of squad announcements, Italy would already be walking away with this year’s title.
The Azzurri revealed their 26-man squad for this summer’s continental showpiece in a glitzy ceremony which left fans impressed and confused in equal measure.
Appearing on a primetime television special ‘Notte Azzurra’ aired on Tuesday but which was reportedly filmed one day prior, manager Roberto Mancini shared the 26 names he would be using for Italy’s campaign – but not before some serious entertainment.
With the players decked out in matching suits, the trio of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne were seen giving their best rendition of some freestyle rap alongside national star Clementino.
Mancini was seen jiving along to one of the musical pieces and also took part in some weird-looking party games involving frying pans.
At one stage, defender Leonardo Bonucci played foosball with centre-back partner Giorgio Chiellini and the show’s hosts, before the team joined together for a rousing rendition of the anthem to rally the troops before they set off to do battle later this month.
"This wins the internet today," wrote one fan, while another observer added: “Now this is how you do a squad announcement!! I already had Italy as one of my favorites at EURO. The bar has been raised.”
Some fans fretted that the marathon show would mean Italy actually missed the deadline to submit the official 26-man squad list to UEFA.
When the names were finally revealed, there was room for uncapped Sassuolo forward Giacomo Raspadori, a surprise call-up from the Under-21s.
However, there was no space for Roma defender Gianluca Mancini, Atalanta midfielder Matteo Pessina or Napoli winger Matteo Politano.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Moise Kean had already been a high-profile casualty when Mancini had trimmed his squad from 33 players to 28 over the weekend, before whittling that down to the final 26.
“We hope that this adventure lasts as long as possible and we can make the Italians happy,” Mancini said.
“Our Nazionale was born after the disappointment of the 2018 World Cup and many young players came in, plus we fortunately started strong and that helped create this positive atmosphere.”
One-time winners Italy face Turkey in the opening game of this year's tournament at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on June 11, before hosting Switzerland and Wales at the same venue to complete their Group A fixtures.
The team have been a revived force under Mancini, enjoying a perfect qualifying campaign in which they won 10 games out of 10, scoring 37 goals and conceding just four.
If they can top their spectacular squad announcement, Italy might just fancy their chances of going all the way this summer.
FULL ITALY SQUAD FOR EURO 2020
Goalkeepers
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan)
- Alex Meret (Napoli)
- Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)
Defenders
- Francesco Acerbi (Lazio)
- Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan)
- Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
- Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
- Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli)
- Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea)
- Alessandro Florenzi (PSG)
- Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma)
- Rafael Toloi (Atalanta)
Midfielders
- Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
- Bryan Cristante (Roma)
- Jorginho (Chelsea)
- Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo)
- Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
- Stefano Sensi (Inter Milan)
- Marco Verratti (PSG)
Forwards
- Andrea Belotti (Torino)
- Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
- Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus)
- Federico Chiesa (Juventus)
- Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
- Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)
- Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo)