Roberto Mancini confirmed he’d rotate his Italy squad for their Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta and explained why he trusts in Mateo Retegui to become ‘a great striker’.
The Azzurri looked two different teams in their 2-1 loss to England on Thursday, looking dire in the first 45 minutes but much more productive in the second, a concerning sign for Azzurri fans following their second World Cup absence in a row.
Italy are now gearing up for their second Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta, a match that they cannot afford to lose after their defeat to the Three Lions.
Speaking in a press conference, Mancini first discussed he expects in Italy’s clash with Malta.
“I expect a difficult match, these matches are all difficult and if you can’t unlock them a little bit of difficulty appears. In the end its three points, beyond the value of the team. We will change several players.”
He was asked if he was feeling the pressure.
“We always have to win but I don’t feel pressure at all. After so many games against England we could have done with a defeat.”
The Italian coach touched on if he was concerned about this qualifying round.
“September is a bit more difficult for us, but no, it doesn’t fundamentally change anything.”
He responded to Mario Balotelli’s comments on Instagram, where he suggested that there are fit strikers in Italy.
“What should I say to Mario? I’m glad they are there. I don’t know what he’s referring to…. Maybe he is referring to himself? I love him too much, hopefully he can be really fit.”
Mancini was asked to judge Retegui’s performance in the loss to England.
“We’ve been following him for a long time and maybe we didn’t see eye to eye as several Italian clubs are also following him. He is a young guy, smart, he wants to become a great striker.
“He has difficulty calling for the ball, he had difficulty on Thursday night but then he scored a goal that wasn’t easy, he can improve a lot in the coming months.”
He commented on if Francesco Acerbi would start against Malta.
“We’ll see. We’ll change several players because of tiredness, but we have to evaluate them both today and tomorrow morning, let’s see how they are.”
The Italy coach also couldn’t guarantee that Retegui would start.
“He deserves confirmation but he also has to be assessed on a physical level, he came from Argentina, many things have to be evaluated.”
Mancini looked ahead to the upcoming competitions for the Italy youth squads.
“And in May there will also be the Under-20 World Cup, all the players who have a chance of going there should go.
“We’ll make a lot of evaluations, the U-20 team has many players who can stay with us.”
He gave his thoughts on Malta as a team.
“It’s a team that has changed a lot, at a tactical level they’ve evolved. They’ve improved a lot, they know how to defend well and they counter-attack well.
“In Macedonia they were still 0-0 in the 60th minute. The right-back is very good, as is their left mezzala. But it will depend a lot on us.”
The Azzurri coach was asked how the wingers could help Retegui stay involved in the match.
“He has to help himself. He must have some time to get to know well the technical characteristics of his teammates, then it is clear that in a 4-3-3 the attacking players must help the centre forward.
“It is fundamental that the wide players use dribbling to skip past the man, because if they get to the back and put the ball in the centre, he is strong in the penalty area.”
Finally, Mancini responded to the controversy over Retegui talking Spanish on his Italy debut.
“That’s another reason why you have to be patient. He’s been in Italy for three days, how can he speak Italian? His grandfather knew Italian, it’s a meaningless controversy. When he knows Italian it will be easier for him.”