I would add Chiesa & Tonali to that list easily, even Jorginho despite his recent fuck ups (didn't he just finish 3rd in the Ballon D'Or race?). I also rate Pellegrini very highly, but I guess not everyone does.
But what you are suggesting is still true. The problem with Italy is that the attack sucks. You take Chiesa out (as he was after the Euros), and the Azzurri frontline is mediocre. So you could say that the current squad overachieved at the Euro's as all key players were fit.
These may sound like excuses because they are but Italy didn't qualify coz:
- Key players like Chiesa, Spinazzola, etc were injured
- After Euro's, Italy just didn't have time to regroup & try new faces as the WC was just a year later.
- The WC qualifying is a very silly format as a couple of average games & you are out
- Muppet Jorginho missed penalties in both those games, even one of those penalties would have taken Italy through
Mancini is now doing the right thing trying new young faces, good to see an Italian coach not afraid to do that. But the talent upfront is really poor. Italy need to find a couple of more players like Chiesa to be considered a top nation.