World Cup: Italy head Coach Prandelli Explains Rômulo Selection

  ... And Why Jonathan Is Not In His Plans

Italy head Cesare Prandelli has outlined why he’s considering Rômulo for his World Cup squad.

The 26 year-old has had an outstanding campaign, scoring five goals and providing eight assists, to help newly-promoted Hellas Verona avoid the drop.

Rômulo's good form has not gone unnoticed and the Brazilian-born midfielder has done enough to convince Prandelli he is worth a closer look.

“We had this idea watching the teams and listening to the statements of players,” Prandelli said, as reported by Football Italia. 

“We got information on his status and in my view Rômulo is able to cover several roles, has pace, technique and consistency.

“We quietly kept an eye on him and called him up because I feel he deserves to be among the 40 pre-World Cup players.”

Meanwhile,  Prandelli has revealed that Jonathan has been one of the surprise standout performers in Serie A this season.

Jonathan's form is reported to have caught the eye of Prandelli, who was believed to be considering him for an international call up, even though he was born in Brazil.

Despite the speculation, the Conselheiro Lafaiete native was surprisingly overlooked when Prandelli named his squad for physical testing last week, but the tactician has now outlined his reasons for not selected the former Santos star.

“To call up a player like Jonathan to the national team you need seven months to obtain a document,” he said, as reported by Football Italia.

“It’s not the same situation as with Rômulo.

“There is also another problem. I have always asked the players to express themselves and to say ‘I want to play for Italy and only Italy.’

“Jonathan has not done this.”