Roberto Mancini explained the lack of youth in his current Italy squad and looked ahead to the upcoming Nations League clash with the Netherlands.
The Azzurri fell in a frustrating 2-1 loss to Spain in their Nations League semi-final outing, relegating them to the third-place match. It was another disappointing evening for Italy and did little to dispel the doubts surrounding Mancini’s future at the helm.
Many Italy fans are now expecting an increased usage of youngsters in the run-up to Euro 2024, ready to start a new generation, but the squad that lost to Spain did not inspire supporters.
Speaking in a press conference, Mancini first joked about Napoli’s appointment of Rudi Garcia and the Azzurri’s loss to Spain.
“Luckily Napoli got the coach, otherwise…. I was sorry for the loss, we could have won and gone to the final. Everything else doesn’t matter.”
He confirmed that Mateo Retegui would start against the Netherlands.
‘Yes, for sure tomorrow. It was scheduled to be a game for one, the players are tired, they are not 100%. In these days we’ve been working we’ve tried to recover… it’s an important game, we’re trying to win even if first place isn’t at stake.”
The Italy coach was asked if anything new was planned for the national team.
“This qualifying phase of the Nations League has been played with young players, who perhaps you didn’t even know.
“The project has already started. There was the Under-20 World Cup, the Under-21… We had Bastoni who fell ill the day before the start, we had some problems.”
Mancini also discussed the match against the Netherlands to Sky Sports Italia.
“The new path has already begun because having reached the final phase of the Nations League with a group of young players is not easy. Then there were the Under-20 and Under-21 competitions and we had to leave some youngsters to the lower team.
“We had a great run and then there was the World Cup, which was the only negative thing. We reached the final phase of the Nations League for the second time, where the best teams play.
“I am the coach of the national team, and I am happy no matter what. Then it is clear that I am sorry to have lost the game.”
Listening to Mancini is painful. He is totally clueless at this point. Mark my words we won’t qualify for the euros.
Agree 100% he needs to resign asap
This guy is delusional he says the same thing everything yet let’s no one play other then 1 or 2 guys. That back line that started was a disaster not forget bonucci in the 1st NL game in Spain was thrown out with a red card. What is so obvious cannot be done. I think this is beyond mancini and come from the top.
Started and failed!