Article by Alexandru Tomuțiu – Published Thursday, November 20, 2025, 8:05 p.m. / Updated Thursday, November 20, 2025, 8:06 p.m.
The Italian coach, Gennaro Gattuso (47 years old), clarified why Federico Chiesa (28 years old) was absent from the national team in the preliminaries for the World Cup.
Chiesa hasn't played for Italy in over a year. His last appearance was at EURO 2024, when the 'Squadra Azzurra' were knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16.
Gennaro Gattuso on Federico Chiesa: “I call him before every break”
In his first season at Liverpool, Chiesa started just one Premier League game. This season, the striker has been more consistent, scoring in Liverpool's first Premier League game in a 4-2 win against Bournemouth. This made his absence from the Italian national team even more notable.
Gattuso, who replaced Luciano Spalletti in June, has stated on several occasions that he has been in constant contact with Chiesa since taking charge of the national team. The desire to summon him, he assures, was not lacking.
Asked in Zurich on Thursday after the draw for the World Cup qualifiers whether Chiesa would be the ideal player to break the defensive block of Northern Ireland, Italy's semi-final opponents in March, Gattuso appeared irritated by the question.
Federico Chiesa, playing for Liverpool / Photo: Imago
“You know this very well,” he said according to abola.pt. “You always ask the same questions. I call Chiesa. I call him before every international break. The problem is not Gattuso or his technical staff. The problem is his. Not ours. You know that perfectly. You always ask me the same questions and I keep giving you the same answer,” concluded the coach.
