The uncapped trio of Sampdoria frontman Giampaolo Pazzini, AS Roma right back Marco Motta and Genoa defender Salvatore Bocchetti have been called up for Italy's World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Ireland.
Injury-hit coach Marcello Lippi has been forced to look outside his usual group for the trip to Podgorica on Saturday and the following Wednesday's clash with ex-Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland in Bari.
Pazzini, 24, is picked after scoring eight times in eight appearances since joining Samp from Fiorentina at the start of the year while Motta, 22, on loan to the Giallorossi from Udinese, comes in after a string of fine displays.
Bocchetti, 22, was playing third division soccer last year but has impressed at Genoa this season.
Roma midfielder Matteo Brighi, who picked up his only previous cap in a 2002 friendly against Slovenia under Trapattoni, is included after impressive work amid Roma's own injury crisis.
Lazio forward Pasquale Foggia, who has two caps, was again named.
Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni are out so Juve's Vincenzo Iaquinta, two-goal hero at Roma Saturday night, is tipped for the No.9 shirt.
Mauro Camoranesi, Gennaro Gattuso, Simone Perrotta, Alberto Aquilani and Nicola Legrottaglie are also injured.
Despite the absence of so many regulars, there was no place again for Juve's in-form captain Alessandro Del Piero, 34, evergreen AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi, 35, or Samp's mercurial Antonio Cassano.
Italy and Ireland are joint top of Group Eight with 10 points from 4 matches followed by Bulgaria with 3 from 3, Montenegro with 2 from 3, Georgia with 2 from 5 and Cyprus with 1 from 3.
Here is the 23-man squad for the World Cup Group Eight qualifiers in Montenegro on March 28 and at home to Ireland on April 1.
Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Palermo), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray)
Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Marco Motta (Roma), Gianluca Zambrotta (Milan)
Midfielders: Matteo Brighi (AS Roma), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Pasquale Foggia (Lazio), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Andrea Pirlo (Milan)
Forwards: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal).
