Italian Players in Champions League Action
The Champions League is back. Floodlights, anthems, and for Italy, a quiet headcount of who carries the tricolore into Europe this time.
On Tuesday night, as the 2026-27 campaign kicks off at 17.45 BST, eight Italian players – or Italian hopefuls – are scattered across the fixture list. Some are established pillars. Others are kids chasing a first real taste of this stage. All of them matter to a national team still reshaping its identity.
Early curtain-raiser in Bruges
The first Italian storyline of the night unfolds in Belgium.
At Jan Breydelstadion, Club Brugge host Aston Villa in the early kick-off, and Nicolo Tresoldi is expected to lead the line for the home side. Still eligible for both Germany and Italy at senior level, he walks out knowing every Champions League minute doubles as an audition.
Tresoldi has already shown he can handle this competition. Now he gets Villa at 17.45 BST, in front of a crowd that demands front-foot football and a coaching staff that trusts him to deliver it.
Donnarumma under City’s spotlight
Later, at 20.00 BST, all eyes turn to Portugal.
Manchester City travel to Porto, and Italy’s No.1, Gianluigi Donnarumma, is set to start in goal for the Premier League giants. It is a high-profile platform for a goalkeeper who left Serie A young, but never really left the conversation back home.
City expect to dominate the ball. Porto rarely accept that fate quietly. Donnarumma will be asked to play with his feet, marshal a high line, and still produce the big, old-fashioned saves that first made his name. Every Champions League night for him carries a familiar question: can he still be the long-term anchor for Italy as well as for his club?
Bernabeu stage for Inter’s core
The headline act comes in Madrid.
Fifteen-time European champions Real Madrid welcome the reigning Serie A and Coppa Italia holders Inter to the Santiago Bernabeu, a heavyweight clash that will test the spine of Cristian Chivu’s side and, by extension, the heart of Italy’s national team.
Chivu is expected to start Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella, two automatic picks for Italy when fit. Bastoni will be asked to read the game under pressure, stepping out of defence against one of the most ruthless counter-attacking sides in Europe. Barella, tireless and combative, must set the tempo in a midfield battle that rarely forgives a slow start.
On the bench, Pio Esposito waits for his moment. For a young forward, even ten minutes at the Bernabeu can change a season.
One name is missing. Federico Dimarco, usually a guaranteed starter on the left, has stayed in Milan after struggling with knee pain in the build-up. His absence strips Inter of one of their most dangerous outlets and denies Italy’s staff another chance to see him tested against elite opposition.
Dortmund’s young Italian trio
In Germany, the focus shifts to potential rather than finished products.
Borussia Dortmund host Villarreal, and three Italy youngsters could be involved: Luca Reggiani, Filippo Mane and Samuele Inacio. This is the kind of fixture where Dortmund have often unleashed their next wave.
Pre-match reports suggest Mane has a real chance of starting under Niko Kovac. If he does, he will step into a side expected to play on the front foot, in a stadium that demands intensity and bravery on the ball. Reggiani and Inacio will hope for minutes from the bench, but even a place in the matchday squad at this level signals how highly the club rate them.
For Italy, these are names still written in pencil. That can change quickly.
The Italian watchlist – Tuesday’s Champions League ties
- Club Brugge vs Aston Villa (17.45 BST) – Nicolo Tresoldi (Club Brugge)
- Porto vs Manchester City (20.00 BST) – Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City)
- Real Madrid vs Inter (20.00 BST) – Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella, Pio Esposito (Inter) *Federico Dimarco misses out with a knee issue*
- Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal (20.00 BST) – Luca Reggiani, Filippo Mane, Samuele Inacio (Borussia Dortmund)
Some are already fixtures in the national setup, some are still only “hopefuls.” By the end of this European campaign, how many will Italy still be able to call their own – and how many will have forced their way into the Azzurri’s next great core?
