Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini says Italy are suffering from a generation gap.
The latest Azzurri squad has seen veterans such as Emiliano Moretti, 33, and Manuel Pasqual, 32, included alongside the likes of Daniele Rugani, 20, and Mattia De Sciglio, 22.
"It's not a prosperous period for Italian football," Chiellini said.
"We've got a bit of a generational gap in the squad, it goes from people aged around 27 or 28 to around 19 or 20.
"There's a gap there which has unfortunately not been filled. I believe this situation is clear in all areas, but especially those [like defence] which are important to the organisation and cohesion of the team.
"I don't know why this is. It's not my problem to fix, I'll just play.
"We can see there's a gap in defence, there aren't many [defenders] in Serie A in the age range between 20 and 26 but I don't know why."
