Del Piero played in Wednesday's Champions League final

Coach Giovanni Trapattoni announced a squad devoid of many of Italy's best players for the friendly against Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

Instead of Alessandro Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi and Francesco Totti, Trapattoni has called on forwards Fabrizio Miccoli, Bernardo Corradi, Marco Delvecchio and Marco Di Vaio.

Trapattoni is resting several of the AC Milan and Juventus players who lined out in last week's Champions League final.

Those players who also include Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso and Mauro Camoranesi are almost certain to return to the team for the Euro 2004 qualifier in Finland on 11 June.

With seven points, Italy are in second position behind Wales (11 points) in Group 9.

Inzaghi's fitness for the Finland match is uncertain because of a leg injury.

Christian Vieri, Italy's most prominent scorer, is still out with a knee injury that caused him to miss Inter Milan's final five matches of the Italian league season.

With Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon rested for this game, Inter's Francesco Toldo will probably get the starting nod against Northern Ireland.

Tuesday's friendly in the southern Italian town of Campobasso will be played in memory of victims of the 31 October earthquake in a nearby village.

A school collapsed in the quake, killing 26 children and one of their teachers.