Chiesa's surprising decision

Coach Gennaro Gattuso admitted he was surprised when Federico Chiesa bluntly rejected the opportunity to return to the Italian team for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Federico Chiesa is not ready to return to the Italy team.

In the early morning of September 6, the Italian team easily defeated Estonia 5-0. In the post-match press conference, coach Gattuso revealed that he really wanted to call up Chiesa, but the player himself refused, expressing that he was not ready to return to the national team.

“We wanted to call Chiesa, but I saw someone who was not 100% confident,” Gattuso said. “When a player is in an official match, I want them to be full of energy and ready. Chiesa told me clearly that he was not ready, because he needed to improve some things.”

Chiesa has not played for Italy since Euro 2024, and his decision to decline this time shows that he is prioritising improving his form and mentality at club level before returning to the international arena.

Chiesa made a promising start to the 2025/26 season at Liverpool, scoring his first Premier League goal as a substitute in Liverpool's win over Bournemouth in the first round.

The 27-year-old was also used in the final minutes of the wins over Newcastle and Arsenal. However, Chiesa's omission from Liverpool's Champions League squad was a big surprise. Liverpool even registered 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha, but left out the Italian striker.

Source: https://znews.vn/quyet-dinh-bat-ngo-cua-chiesa-post1582964.html