Donnarumma 'absolutely thrilled' with new Italy head coach Gattuso

Gianluigi Donnarumma says he is "absolutely thrilled" that Gennaro Gattuso has been appointed as Italy's new head coach.

Gattuso was named as Italy's boss on June 15 and has reportedly signed a one-year contract as he aims to take the team to the World Cup.

He replaced Luciano Spalletti, who announced he had been sacked in a pre-match press conference for Italy's 2-0 win over Moldova, which was his final game in charge.

Gattuso represented the Azzurri as a player, earning 73 caps for his country between 2000 and 2010, and winning the 2006 World Cup.

Donnarumma played under Gattuso at AC Milan between November 2017 and May 2019, when the head coach left his position, serving as his first-choice goalkeeper in Serie A.

And Donnarumma was delighted to get the chance to work with Gattuso once more.

"I'm absolutely thrilled – I've spoken to Gattuso a couple of times already," Donnarumma told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"He's really motivated, just like we are. Hopefully, we can achieve great things together – I'm very happy to have him as our new coach."

Gattuso is tasked with guiding Italy back to the biggest stage after they failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar, respectively.

Only the top team in each group automatically qualifies for the 2026 tournament, with Italy currently third in Group I, nine points behind Norway, though they have played two games fewer.