On 13 May 2012, Barzagli was selected by Prandelli for the 32-man shortlist for Italy's Euro 2012 squad; he was named as one of the final 23 members of Italy's squad on 29 May. On 1 June 2012, in a preparation match for Euro 2012 against Russia, he captained the team for the first time after Gianluigi Buffon was taken off to be replaced by Morgan De Sanctis. On 4 June, Barzagli suffered an injury during training, which put his place at Euro 2012 in jeopardy; despite initial concerns that he would be unable to participate in the tournament, he was kept in the squad by Prandelli in place of his back-up, Davide Astori, after it was stated that he would only miss Italy's opening group matches against Spain and Croatia.