Italy CT Roberto Mancini said the 7-0 win over San Marino didn’t help him decide ahead of Euro 2020. ‘We have to choose between a pair of very talented players’.
The Azzurri started the preparations for Euro 2020 with a friendly against San Marino, when Matteo Politano and Matteo Pessina scored two each in the second half.
Italy needed 30 minutes to score the first goal and were up 2-0 at half-time, as Mancini admitted the team improved in the second half.
Mancini: “We were a bit more aggressive in the second half, were quicker passing the ball, but that was the most important thing more than the result,” Mancini told RAI Sport.
“We already had some doubts and this game didn’t change them much, but it did a little bit. We have to choose between a pair of very talented players, so that is always difficult.”
Federico Bernardeschi was the captain of the night and scored the opener for Italy, whilst Gian Marco Ferrari added the second in the first half.
“Bernardeschi has always done well with us and is one of the lads who helped us qualify, so we have no complaints about his performances for us.”
Moise Kean was substituted at half-time and Mancini revealed the striker struggled with an injury at the break.
“He had a knock straight away and had a few issues, so he went off at half-time. He has done very well at PSG, has enormous room for improvement and he too is an important player for Italy.”
Giacomo Raspadori was not in the squad, as Mancini had ‘promised’ the Sassuolo forward he could play for Italy U21 against Portugal.
“Raspadori did well over the last three months at Sassuolo. I promised he could play for the Under-21s against Portugal, so he wouldn’t have been able to play tonight. We hope it all goes well and then we’ll see.”