National team complaints resurface as only one Italian started in Udinese vs. Como

A common complaint from supporters of the Italy national team is that there are not enough opportunities handed to homegrown players in Serie A, and that argument is evidenced by the fact that there was only one Italian in the 22 players that started Easter Monday’s match between Udinese and Como.

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The Easter Monday schedule began with Udinese’s visit from Cesc Fabregas’s Como, who are looking to cement their place in the Serie A top four heading into the final stretch of the 2025-26 season. 

You can follow the action from all of Monday’s Serie A fixtures on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Just one Italy player named in Udinese vs. Como line-ups 

There have been widespread complaints from many supporters of Serie A clubs that there are not enough opportunities handed to Italian players in the domestic top-flight. This was certainly the case when Nicolo Zaniolo was the only Italian in the 22 players that started in Monday’s Serie A match between Udinese and Como. 

Cesc Fabregas and Como are, in fact, the worst offenders when it comes to the lack of opportunities for Italy hopefuls at club level. 

Only one Italian player has represented Como in Serie A so far this season: 32-year-old centre-back Edoardo Goldaniga, who has made two substitute appearances for a total of 14 minutes of league action this campaign. He also had a 90-minute run-out in the second round of the Coppa Italia.

“If Italy wants to fix the problems with its national team, it’ll have to go through a change in the league regulations forcing a minimum number of Italians on the pitch,” one supporter commented on X.

Another supporter commented: “I don’t agree with setting a minimum number of Italians on the pitch, but this is embarrassing.”

One fan wrote: “But it would be wrong to force Italians to play without any merit whatsoever. The focus should be on the youth teams, on why there aren’t any Italians capable of being starters in a mediocre league like Serie A.”

“We keep failing to understand that the problem isn’t foreign players, but a rotten system that favours agents and those willing to pay, with 80-year-olds sitting in the positions of power. We’ll make it to the World Cup in 2042,” another added.