Mohamed Ali Zoma: Italy's Next Rising Star
Roberto Mancini’s second spell in charge of Italy is about to get serious, and so is the tug-of-war for one of Europe’s most intriguing young wingers.
With the first international break of the 2026-27 season looming, momentum is building around the name Mohamed Ali Zoma, the 1. FC Nürnberg wide man whose form in Germany has forced its way onto the Azzurri agenda.
Mancini’s Reset After World Cup Failure
Italy’s upcoming Nations League run is no gentle reintroduction. Belgium, Turkiye, France and Turkiye again – four games across an extended two-week window – will mark Mancini’s first matches since he was recalled in the summer to replace Gennaro Gattuso as CT.
He returns to a national team still reeling. A disastrous calendar year saw Italy miss out on the 2026 World Cup, a failure that has shaken the old certainties around selection and hierarchy. This next squad is expected to carry the first real fingerprints of Mancini’s reset: reputations under review, places up for grabs, and a clear focus on players who can define the next cycle rather than the last one.
That means new blood. It also means urgency with dual nationals who could still be lost to other countries.
Which is where Zoma comes in.
Born in Italy, Wanted Elsewhere
Zoma is 22, a winger by trade, and a nightmare for defenders when he squares them up. Born and raised in Merate, he is Italian by upbringing and football education, but he remains eligible for Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast through his parents.
For those federations, he represents an obvious target: a sharp, goal-hungry wide forward thriving in one of Europe’s most competitive second tiers. For Italy, he is exactly the type of profile they can no longer afford to ignore or delay on.
Mancini knows it. The player knows it too.
“It’s true, Roberto Mancini and I have spoken,” Zoma told Sky. “He said that he is keeping an eye on me and that I should keep going like this, and then we’ll see.”
A simple message, but a clear one. Perform, and the door opens.
From AlbinoLeffe to a €20m Asset
Zoma’s rise has not been the polished academy-to-superclub tale. He came through at AlbinoLeffe, working his way through youth and senior sides in Serie C, far from the glamour and spotlight that usually surround Italy’s most hyped prospects.
Last summer, Nürnberg saw something others had missed or hesitated on. They paid €1.5m to bring him to the 2. Bundesliga. It already looks like one of the bargains of the market.
Zoma exploded in his first season in Germany: 19 goal involvements in the league – 14 goals and five assists – from just 29 appearances. Those are not the numbers of a player simply adapting. Those are the numbers of a player bending a division to his will.
He has not eased off. Five league games into 2026-27, he has already scored five times. Defenders know what he wants to do; they still cannot stop it.
The impact has not gone unnoticed. Sky Sport DE’s Florian Plettenberg reported late-window interest in the winger, but Nürnberg refused to budge. They have set his value at around €20m and intend to build around him, not cash in early.
A Call-Up “Increasingly Close”
As the Nations League fixtures approach, the noise is growing. Tuttosport describes an Italy call-up as “increasingly close” for the 22-year-old. TMW goes further, predicting he will be part of Mancini’s next squad.
The logic is hard to argue with. Italy need goals, they need pace, and they need players who arrive at camp on the crest of a wave rather than clinging to past achievements. Zoma brings all of that, plus the added strategic importance of securing his international future before Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast make their own move.
For Mancini, this break is about more than just results against heavyweight opposition. It is about staking out the future, deciding who belongs in the core of a new Italy and who can be left behind.
Zoma has done his part in Germany. Now the question is whether his next step is a boarding pass to Coverciano and a blue shirt with his name on the back.
