I know who I´m taking - Conte sure on Euro 2016 selection

Italy head coach Antonio Conte already has a clear idea of which players will make his final 23-man party for the upcoming European Championship in France.

Euro 2016 will be Conte’s last act as Italy coach, as he prepares to take over at Chelsea following the tournament.

On Monday, Conte announced a provisional 30-man squad for the finals, with seven of those to be cut before the deadline at the end of May.

And Conte says he is fairly certain which players will be travelling with him to France, where they face Belgium, Republic of Ireland and Sweden in Group E.

“In my head I know who to take to the European Championship,” he said at Tuesday’s media conference.

“My ideas are very clear, and I’m very clear from this point of view. Doubts? I honestly have very few in my head, I already have a list of 24 or 25.

“Four or five strikers, that’s one of the choices.”

One man who will not be included is New York City midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who was left out of the 30-man squad, as was fellow MLS star Sebastian Giovinco.

“I spoke to Andrea, I needed to hear from him and we sent people to the United States,” Conte said.

“However, we’ve made other choices and you have to accept them and deal with the consequences. Nothing was left to chance.

“We evaluated him and Giovinco, it’s normal that if you choose to go and play there then you can pay the consequences in footballing terms.

“We evaluated them technically, we didn’t leave anything to chance. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong, we went everywhere to have clear and precise ideas.

“I picked the 30 who I think will give me the most guarantees.”