Cesare Prandelli names his squad: Eight Juventus players heading to the Confederations Cup

For the past two major tournaments, Italy's Juventus influence has gotten back to what people have come to expect of the Italian champions. Strong Juventus means a strong Italy, right? Well, when Italy head to Brazil and the Confederations Cup later this month, Juve will certainly be well-represented on Italy's roster.

Eight players have been named to Cesare Prandelli's 23-man squad that was released on Tuesday. Of those seven players, six of them are regular starters for Antonio Conte and the two-time defending Scudetto winners.

The full roster for the Confederations Cup, which begins in two weeks in Brazil, is as follows

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (PSG)

Defenders: Ignazo Abate (Milan), Davide Astori (Cagliari), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Mattia Di Sciglio (Milan), Christian Maggio (Napoli)

Midfielders: Alberto Acquilani (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Diamanti (Bologna), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)

Strikers: Mario Balotelli (Milan), Stephan El Shaarawy (Milan), Alberto Gilardino (Bologna), Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus)

There was talk that Andrea Barzagli may miss out because of a lingering Achilles injury, but was deemed fit after Monday's double training session. That meant that central defenders Angelo Ogbonna and Andrea Ranocchia will be watching the Confederations Cup from the comfort of their couches rather than sitting on the bench and dealing with the South American heat.

Italy will fly to Prague for a World Cup qualifying match against the Czech Republic on Friday before the head to South America for the Confederations Cup, which runs from June 15 to June 30.