Defenders: Balzaretti (Palermo), Bonucci (Juventus) Cassani (Palermo), Chiellini (Juventus), Criscito (Zenit St. Petersburg), Maggio (Napoli), Ogbonna (Torino), Ranocchia (Inter);

Midfielders: Aquilani (Liverpool), De Rossi (Roma), Marchisio (Juventus), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Inter), Nocerino (Palermo), Palombo (Sampdoria), Pirlo (Juventus);

Forwards: Balotelli (Manchester City), Cassano (Milan), Giovinco (Parma), Pazzini (Inter), Rossi (Villarreal).

The on-loan Juventus playmaker shone in victory over Ukraine.

“Paradoxically I had more answers from the Ukraine game than against Slovenia, because it’s difficult to find a balance when you can change eight players,” said Prandelli.

“We had therefore focused on three aspects: organisation, aggression in midfield and breaking forward. I saw all those, despite the difficulties.

“If I have to name one player who impressed me, I’d say Giovinco: tenacious, effective, he was never afraid of the tackle and showed great vision for the goal.”

"I am happy with my performance" - Giovinco

The Atomic Ant was one of Italy’s stand-out performers in Kiev, helping his side to a deserved 2-0 victory that extends Cesare Prandelli’s unbeaten run to eight matches.

“I am happy with my performance and how the game went,” Giovinco said. “I am part of the group and now it’s up to me to stay in it for as long as possible.

“I returned today and I still haven’t trained with Parma. I’ll do so tomorrow. Anyway the game against Bari will be fundamental. We must be 100 per cent concentrated and go out on the pitch as if it were a Final.

“I have to be the leader of this team. I was signed to give a contribution and I hope to do well in the final games of the season. Parma is a fundamental stage of my career because they allowed me to get into the national team.

“I would like to once again thank my teammates, the club and the President because they have put me in the condition to express myself best.”

Sebastian Giovinco hopes he will remind Italy of his quality during the upcoming international fixtures to safeguard his Azzurri spot, but he remains eager to avoid surveying his club future.

The 24-year-old ace is back in the Nazionale set-up following a stellar season on loan at Parma from Juventus.

Reports have claimed the Ducali want him permanently and will discuss making their co-ownership with the Old Lady a full one, but he has also attracted interest from abroad.

However, the only travelling Giovinco wants to do is with Italy as he dispels rumours of a transfer away from the peninsula.

“At the moment all I think about is this situation with the national team and doing well with Parma,” he told Tuttomercatoweb.com.

“There is no point speaking about the past and I don’t want to cause drama as we know what happened. The present situation means I am doing well.

“As for my future, we will see in June. I have never thought about moving abroad.”

Goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo), Emiliano Viviano (Bologna).

Defenders Davide Astori (Cagliari), Federico Balzaretti (Palermo), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Daniele Gastaldello (Sampdoria), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Andrea Ranocchia (Internazionale), Davide Santon (Cesena).

Midfielders Alberto Aquilani (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Stefano Mauri (Lazio), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Internazionale), Antonio Nocerino (Palermo), Marco Parolo (Cesena).

Forwards Antonio Cassano (Milan), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Sebastian Giovinco (Parma), Alessandro Matri (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Internazionale), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal).

The Under-21 international came off the bench and with his first touch took a free kick from a dangerous position, proving he was not short on confidence.

“It was an important debut, but I felt pretty calm. Coach Cesare Prandelli told me to take that free kick as soon as I came on, although I might’ve taken it anyway! I should’ve done better, but it was my first touch.

“I must always try to improve, I’m working on that and hope to be a part of this squad in future.”

Giovinco is still owned by Juventus, but is finding his form on loan at Parma.

“I thank everyone who believed in me and continue to believe in me. I am doing my best to repay that faith.

“I really needed to play consistently and at Parma I am finally achieving that.”

Large portions of Juventus’ fanbase lamented their club’s decision last summer to allow Sebastian Giovinco to leave for Parma on a season-long loan deal. Since then, the same groups have made repeated claims that the Bianconeri’s indifferent form this term could have been avoided if ‘La Formica Atomica’ was still a fixture at Vinovo. And while, on the face of it, his Italy call-up for tomorrow’s clash with Germany in Dortmund may add fuel to the fire, the Giovinco situation is one which needs a lot more analysis.

Despite an excellent record at youth level, Giovinco found it difficult to ever become a regular in the Old Lady’s first team. Not quite a striker and yet not quite a winger, his style of play proved not to be conducive to the 4-4-2 set-up favoured by former coach Claudio Ranieri, and when Ciro Ferrara stepped in and started to play with a free-roaming playmaker – a style which seemingly played into Giovinco’s hands – the club acquired Diego from Werder Bremen to leave the youngster once again looking on from the outside.

While last season was frustrating for any Juventus fan, it must have been doubly so for the Atomic Ant. A Bianconero from birth, he had been built up for the first team for what felt like decades but now was unable to help his side in their hour of need. Injuries undoubtedly played a part as the season developed, but even when he did get a shot early in the campaign after Diego was injured away to Lazio, his form went missing and Juve started to slide after a barnstorming opening.

Even in Serie A, a league known more for its artistry and technical superiority rather than a rough and tumble, in-your-face approach, the 24-year-old has at times been proven to be short – no pun intended – of the physical capabilities necessary to impose himself on a game. Standing at only 5’5” and weighing just 62kg, he has too often been brushed aside by centre-backs, full backs and holding midfielders alike when given a run-out.

Having been used off the left in a 4-4-2 by Ranieri and trialled as a No.10 by Ferrara, he has this season been given a run on the left side of a 4-3-3 by Pasquale Marino at Parma. It’s a position in which he had many successes as Italy’s great hope at under-21 level, latterly playing a key role in the Azzurrini side that reached the 2009 European Championship semi-finals alongside Robert Acquafresca and Mario Balotelli.

Season by season – How has Giovinco been handled?

Since the defeat to Germany in that last-four encounter, the Giovinco rollercoaster has continued at club level. But an upturn since arriving in Emilia-Romagna, backed by a coach who has shown faith in him, has been highlighted by a recent bittersweet brace away to Juve and a magnificent free-kick strike against Catania. He has quickly become the go-to man for the Gialloblu and arguably deserves the chance he will surely get in Dortmund tomorrow night.

But where exactly should Cesare Prandelli include Giovinco in his line-up? The 4-3-3 formation in which he has excelled has been far from a success for the Azzurri, as highlighted under Marcello Lippi at the World Cup, and if Giovinco struggles in amongst the tough guys in the centre of the pitch in the Italian top flight, then surely he is going to be fighting a losing battle in the trequartista spot internationally with players like Arne Freidrich and Sami Khedira paying him extra attention?

A clue as to the commisario tecnico’s intentions may have come in the squad listing, as Seba was included amongst the midfielders rather than forwards, which would suggest a spot high up on the left as part of a 4-3-3 is not in Prandelli’s immediate thoughts. Maybe he will get that shot at the No.10 role as an advanced midfielder-cum-playmaker. It may not work against Germany, but there shouldn’t be a knee-jerk response when handling a talent like Giovinco.

Wherever he’s included and whatever the seemingly worthy reasons for worrying about his long-term suitability to top class international football, there is absolutely no doubting his talent with a football at his feet. It is only right that he be given a chance to prove his worth to the Azzurri shirt, particularly given that this is an era of so few attackers of natural ability in the Italian game. And it is for this reason that he should be supported as much as possible as he takes his first steps intp the senior national game. If that means putting extra muscle in around him in the midfield, then so be it, because after Giovinco there is only really Diego Fabbrini emerging as a potential No.10 over the coming years. This is the right time for Gio’s bow. Now he just needs to be given the protection and support necessary to allow him to flourish as Italy’s next big hope.