Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has named a preliminary 32-man squad for the European Championship and he has served up a couple of surprises.

As expected, Udinese forward Antonio Di Natale was recalled for the first time since 2010 World Cup, whereas Fabio Borini, Alessandro Diamanti and Mattia Destro are somewhat unexpected inclusions.

The squad features two players from Serie B, Torino’s Angelo Ogbonna and Pescara midfielder Marco Verratti, who face an uphill task of trying to make the final 23-man squad.

Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano return to the side, but Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Alberto Aquilani have been overlooked.

Cesare Prandelli will have around two weeks to decided on the nine players that will not make the final cut, as the final 23-man squad should be announced on 29th May.

Italy face a tough task at the final tournament, having been placed alongside Spain, Croatia and Republic of Ireland, but the Azzurri are 1.67 (2/3) favourites with 888sport to make it to the next stage.

Preliminary squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris St. Germain), Emiliano Viviano (Palermo);

Defenders: Ignazio Abate (Milan), Davide Astori (Cagliari), Federico Balzaretti (Palermo), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Salvatore Bocchetti (Rubin Kazan), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Zenit San Pietroburgo), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Angelo Ogbonna (Torino), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter);

Midfielders: Luca Cigarini (Atalanta), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Diamanti (Bologna), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), Cludio Marchisio (Juventus), Ricardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Paris St. Germain), Antonio Nocerino (Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Ezequiel Schelotto (Atalanta), Marco Verratti (Pescara);

Forwards: Mario Balotelli (Manchester City), Fabio Borini (Roma), Antonio Cassano (Milan), Mattia Destro (Siena), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Sebastian Giovinco (Parma).