Mohamed Ali Zoma: A Rising Star for Italy's National Team
Roberto Mancini is preparing for his second debut on the Italy bench, and one name keeps getting louder around Coverciano: Mohamed Ali Zoma.
The first international break of the 2026-27 season is closing in, and momentum is building behind the idea that the 1. FC Nürnberg winger will be part of Mancini’s squad for the upcoming Nations League run in September and October.
A new cycle, a different Italy
Italy face a demanding, stretched-out window: Belgium, Turkiye, France, then Turkiye again in a two-week block that will immediately test Mancini’s rebuilt Azzurri. These will be his first matches back in charge after he was recalled in the summer to replace Gennaro Gattuso as CT.
The context is harsh. Italy are still carrying the weight of a disastrous calendar year that ended with them missing out on the 2026 World Cup. A reset is no longer an option; it’s an obligation. That’s why this squad is expected to look different, with hierarchy questions on the table and a clear eye on dual-national talents who could be tied down before other federations move.
Zoma fits that profile perfectly.
Zoma, the winger everyone is watching
The 22-year-old was born and raised in Merate, but his international future is still open. Through his parents, he remains eligible for Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, a detail that has not gone unnoticed in the corridors of the FIGC.
On the pitch, he has forced his way into the conversation. After coming through at AlbinoLeffe, where he represented both the youth and senior sides in Serie C, Zoma made the leap abroad last summer, joining Nürnberg in the 2. Bundesliga for €1.5m.
That fee already looks like a bargain.
Last season he produced 19 goal involvements in the league – 14 goals and five assists from 29 appearances – numbers that would stand out in any division. He has started the new campaign as if annoyed that people still talk about him as a “prospect”: five goals in his first five league outings of 2026-27, form that has turned quiet interest into open admiration.
From bargain buy to €20m asset
According to Sky Sport DE’s Florian Plettenberg, clubs moved late in the summer window to test Nürnberg’s resolve. They got nowhere. The German side were clear: Zoma was not for sale. Internally, they reportedly value him at around €20m, a figure that reflects both his production and his trajectory.
The player himself knows what this surge means. It doesn’t just attract scouts; it reaches national-team selectors.
Zoma confirmed to Sky that he has already spoken directly with Mancini about a potential Italy call-up. “It’s true, Roberto Mancini and I have spoken. He said that he is keeping an eye on me and that I should keep going like this, and then we’ll see.”
Those are careful words, but the direction is obvious. Mancini is watching, and Zoma is responding with goals.
Call-up closing in
In Italy, the noise is getting harder to ignore. Tuttosport reports that an Azzurri call-up is “increasingly close” for the 22-year-old, while TMW goes a step further, predicting he will be included in the next squad.
If that happens, it will not just be a reward for a hot streak in the 2. Bundesliga. It will be a statement about where Mancini wants to take Italy: younger, quicker, more aggressive, and smart enough to secure talents like Zoma before they slip away to another flag.
The Nations League window is almost here. The list is coming. And all of a sudden, a winger who left Serie C for €1.5m could be walking into an Italy dressing room with a €20m tag and three national teams in his past – but only one in his future.
