Roberto Mancini insists ‘more patience is needed’ with Italy, whose objective is ‘to qualify for Euro 2020 through the Nations League’.
Italy failed to win either of their Nations League openers against Poland and Portugal last time out and were criticised for their performances, but Mancini maintained the Azzurri had enough ‘quality’ to pull through their group.
“More patience is needed, but it’s a word that doesn’t exist in Italy and football in general,” continued the CT at a Press conference.
Roberto Mancini insists ‘more patience is needed’ with Italy, whose objective is ‘to qualify for Euro 2020 through the Nations League’.
Italy failed to win either of their Nations League openers against Poland and Portugal last time out and were criticised for their performances, but Mancini maintained the Azzurri had enough ‘quality’ to pull through their group.
“More patience is needed, but it’s a word that doesn’t exist in Italy and football in general,” continued the CT at a Press conference.
“We’ve made our way on a road that isn’t easy, but we’re still in the Nations League and our objective is to qualify for the European Championship.
“I read the newspapers a bit after our first two games, and the same things were still being written about the national team, even after 20 years.
“We still have quality players and we’re starting a whole new project, which I’m sure will lead to us doing well.
“The only problem we could face would be going into the draw for European Champions League, where we possibly risk facing some strong teams.
“We have to do our best and try to qualify before that. We’re still in the mix. Unfortunately the team didn’t go to the World Cup, so we’ve lost a bit of prestige.
“We hope to do a great job and we’ve made some changes. Seventy percent isn’t enough to play for the national team.”