The 2022 Rugby League World Cup, to be held in England, will get underway on October 15.
As the tournament approaches, nations are beginning to name squads, or drop major hints over who will be travelling to the United Kingdom for the tournament, which was originally supposed to be held in 2021 before being postponed thanks to the impacts of the coronavirus on both the NRL season, and global travel.
Teams are required to name a squad of 24 players for the tournament, where all 16 nations will play three group games, before a knockout stage features up to three more games per team, with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.
Players who are eligible for two nations must decide who they will play for three weeks before the tournament starts under International Rugby League rules.
You can use the drop down menu below to navigate between nations to find out the status of their squad, as well as key information ahead of the tournament.
Italy
Group: B
Coach: Leo Epifania
Captain: Brenden Santi
Number of World Cups: 2
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (2013, 2017)
Fixtures
Monday, October 17, 12:30am: vs Scotland
Sunday, October 23, 12:30am: vs Fiji
Sunday, October 30, 5:30am: vs Australia
All times AEDT.
Parramatta Eels prop Nathan Brown and Melbourne Storm half Cooper Johns are the only capped NRL players named in the Azurri's World Cup squad. Brown has previously represented the nation at the 2017 World Cup.
The team also includes a number of promising names on the NRL fringes and a wealth of talent from the respective Queensland Cup and NSW Cup competitions, including Penrith's Alex Susino and Newtown's Ethan Natoli.
The Azurri's squad is rounded out by number of talented players from the lower tiers of English football and European continental competitions.
Final Italy squad
Daniel Atkinson (Sunshine Coast Falcons)
Nathan Brown (Parramatta Eels)
Joey Tramontana (Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles)
Cooper Johns (Melbourne Storm)
Ryan King (Whitehaven)
Jake Maizen (Sunshine Coast Falcons)
Luca Moretti (Parramatta Eels)
Luke Polselli (Sunshine Coast Falcons)
Jack Campagnolo (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Alec Susino (Penrith Panthers)
Luke Hodge (Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles)
Kyle Pickering (Cronulla Sharks)
Jack Colovatti (Parramatta Eels)
Ethan Natoli (Newtown Jets)
Rinaldo Palumbo (London Broncos)
Nicholas Tilburg (Wentworthville Magpies)
Gieole Celerino (Racing Saint Gaudens)
Simone Boscolo (RC Salon XIII)
Giordano Arena (Catania Bulls)
Ippolito Occhialini (Lignano Sharks)
Alex Rojatto (Lignano Sharks)
Dean Parata (London Broncos)
Brenden Santi (Keighly)
Anton Iaria (Barrow)
Richard Lepori (Swinton)
