Mancini reveals Italy's expected lineup against Belgium in the European Nations League

The features of the starting lineup that Roberto Mancini will adopt in Italy's first match in the European Nations League against Belgium are clear, as Francesco Pio Esposito, Nicolo Zaniolo and Daniel Maldini are expected to lead the attack.

The match will be held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday at 19:45 UK time (20:45 Central European Summer Time).

The group also includes France and Turkey, who will face each other in the other match scheduled for the same day.

Mancini intends to adopt a 4/3/3 plan, but he faces options imposed on him, given the absence of Federico Demarco, Brian Cristante and Marco Balestra due to injury, in addition to the suspension of Alessandro Bastoni.

Inter striker Pio Esposito is still the most prominent candidate, compared to Moise Kean, to lead the attacking line, but there are many options available to complete the attacking trio.

According to the Corriere dello Sport newspaper, Zaniolo, on the right side, and Maldini, on the left side, appear to be the most likely options, instead of Nicolo Cambiaghi and Giacomo Raspadori.

This is a big step for Zaniolo, who has completely missed call-ups to the national team for the past two years.

It seems that the midfield has been decided, as Alessandro Romano will participate in his first match with the Italian national team instead of Samuele Ricci, surrounded by two of the old guard, Nicolo Barella and Sandro Tonali.

Riccardo Calafiore can finally follow his approach with Arsenal by playing in the left defender position instead of central defence, while ensuring the participation of Gianluca Mancini as well.

The only remaining doubts are the comparison between Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Michael Kayode to occupy the right defender position, as the veteran Napoli player is considered the most likely candidate. As for the defensive depth, it will depend largely on Giorgio Scalvini’s physical readiness.

If the Atalanta defender is not ready, Diego Coppola may replace him.

Olympique Lyonnais, the French team that won the Women's Champions League, began its campaign in the continental competition this season with a sweeping victory away from home over Swiss Servette, with a score of 8-0, on Wednesday.

Lyon took the lead with an early own goal, which Servette player Laia Ballisti accidentally scored against her team after 8 minutes.

Marie Antoinette Katoto scored a hat-trick in the 28th, 40th and 47th minutes, and Melchi Dumornay added two goals in the 45th + 1st and 55th minutes.

The French giant, who won the Champions League eight times, benefited with a new own goal, which Magdalena Sobal accidentally scored against her team in the 68th minute.

Enas Ben Yahia concluded the goal festival in the 89th minute.

At the same time, Belgian club Leuven tied with its Italian counterpart AS Roma without goals.

The league stage will be held in its second year with the participation of 18 teams, competing over six rounds, after which the top four clubs qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while the clubs occupying positions from fifth to twelfth will participate in playoff elimination matches during the month of February.

The six rounds of the league stage will begin on September 22 and its competitions will continue until December 16. The final of the tournament will be held at the National Stadium in the Polish capital, Warsaw, in late May.