Gennaro Gattuso and Gianluigi Buffon have urged Italy players to prioritise the national team and World Cup qualification.

According to La Repubblica, the duo had urged the players to do this even if they were not fully fit.

Italy kept Riccardo Calafiori in their camp despite having a hip injury when he joined the Azzurri.

La Repubblica reports that Gattuso and Delegation Chief Buffon told footballers at Coverciano after their defeat against Norway at the San Siro in the final World Cup qualifiers.

The Azzurri have failed to qualify for the last two World Cups. Having also failed to get the automatic spot in the qualifiers, they will likely need to go through the playoffs in March to book a ticket for the USA, Mexico, and Canada next year.

Repubblica says Buffon and Gattuso asked them to make it clear to their clubs that their priority is to go to America next summer.

The duo stressed that qualification for the World Cup must be a priority for the players, the entire movement, the fans, and ultimately for the clubs as well.

The Italian legends explained that during their time, club directors like Luciano Moggi and Adriano Galliani often pushed for players to be rested during international breaks, but their requests were ignored as rejecting a national team call-up was unthinkable back then.

During Luciano Spalletti’s spell, players who were not fully fit would not turn up for the national team and would remain with their clubs to regain full fitness.

However, the trend has changed now as Gattuso expects players to go to Coverciano if called up, regardless of their physical condition.

This is why Calafiori, Gianluca Scamacca, and Sandro Tonali were still called up in September, while Nicolò Barella joined the national team from day one during the November break, despite being banned from the game against Moldova.