Gasperini can have almost everyone by the end of July

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there were four at the starting line, with three reaching the quarter-finals. At Euro 2024, however, there isn’t even one Atalanta player in the quarter-finals.

A rather casual counter-trend, especially in the year of the Europa League victory, but that’s how it is: the facts say that Belgium’s elimination at the hands of France also sends home Charles De Ketelaere, who was the last Nerazzurri player still in the running.

The 2001-born player, who has just transferred permanently to Bergamo, closed the tournament by playing the only bit of the match in the round of 16, with the team 1-0 down and coming on for the final three minutes plus injury time.

The round of 16 was also fatal for him, as it was for Gianluca Scamdefeated by Switzerland against Italy as we sadly know.

The two strikers were the only survivors after the group stage, which had cost elimination to Mario Pasalic with Croatia and Weight of Djimsiti with Albania, right in Italy’s group.

Zero out of four therefore in the best eight national teams, also considering the forfeits that arrived in the previous weeks: that of Giorgio Scalvini for Italy (but nothing would have changed) and those of Marten de Roon and Teun Koopmeiners for Holland.

The Oranje are still in the running and on Tuesday (July 2) they will challenge Romania – which includes the shooting star Mihaila, who spent six months in Bergamo in 2022 – to try to advance to the next round.

The flip side for Gian Piero Gasperini is that, data in hand, by the end of July he could have almost the entire squad available, considering the 21 days of vacation that will be granted to the players once their commitments are finished.

The only ‘latecomer’ might be Edersonwith Brazil practically already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Copa America and who – barring sensational defeats – will be in action on July 7: the final is scheduled for the 15th. The 1999-born midfielder has yet to set foot on the pitch in any official matches.

Bottom line: there is time to prepare for the challenge in Warsaw against Real Madrid in the European Super Cup with a large group available. Net of the injuries of the two Dutch players mentioned above, whose recovery will have to be assessed during the preparation, and of the market dynamics and how these could change the composition of the squad, even if at this moment there are no revolutions in sight. On the contrary.