Roberto Mancini is considering his future in charge of Italy and Lorenzo Bettoni highlights three errors the CT made during the World Cup qualification path.
It’s all over for Italy again. They’ve missed out on two successive World Cups for the first time in history. Last night’s loss against North Macedonia means the Azzurri won’t travel to Qatar in November and will be watching the competition from their sofas.
While Italian media and FIGC President Gabriele Gravina defend Mancini, the former Sampdoria star is considering his future and could decide to resign despite having a contract until 2026. Personally, I expect Mancini to leave after Tuesday’s third-place play-off against Turkey. Whether that’d be a good or bad decision, there is undoubtedly something Mancio got wrong during Italy’s qualification path. Let’s see three of them.
No alternative to Immobile
For one reason or another, Ciro is unable to replicate his Lazio form with the national team. It’s no longer a coincidence, it’s a fact. This is not to say that he should have been replaced after the Euros or that he shouldn’t start last night.
Immobile remains the most prolific striker in Serie A in the last five or six seasons and deserves massive respect for that. However, the feeling is that Mancini didn’t have a clear plan B. Gianluca Scamacca wasn’t even called up to the 23-man squad for the match with North Macedonia because of a slight injury. Andrea Belotti was also left out and Joao Pedro was the only alternative to Immobile. The Brazil-born hitman entered the pitch in the second half, making his Azzurri debut. Is he everything Italy can produce in terms of strikers?
Gratitude isn’t always good
Sixteen of the 23 players available last night were the same as the Euro 2020 squad. The only additions were Alessio Cragno, Mattia De Sciglio, Gianluca Mancini, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Sandro Tonali, Joao Pedro and Matteo Politano.
Mancini largely remained loyal to the group that won Euro 2020 in the summer. It’s understandable that he didn’t want to change the system much, but some of the players were clearly not fit and have produced inconsistent performances this season. The most notable is Lorenzo Insigne who hasn’t been anywhere near the Euro 2020 standards this term. He is not the only one at fault, but Italy needed something else on the left. Nicolò Barella also looked exhausted with Inter and both Sandro Tonali and Lorenzo Pellegrini have probably shown enough with Milan and Roma to deserve a starting spot against North Macedonia.
Limited alternatives in attack and wrong subs
Italy’s main issue has been their capacity to score goals. Even when things were running smoothly, their attacking record has somehow been a problem, especially over the last year. This is not only down to Immobile.
Mancini didn’t have enough attacking options yesterday. He sent Mattia Zaccagni to the stands despite the Lazio star being one of the most in-form players in Serie A at the moment. As already mentioned, Joao Pedro was the only striker available. The choice on Nicolò Zaniolo is debatable as the Roma star is not at his peak right now and Mancini doesn’t see him as a winger but as an attacking midfielder or Mezzala. However, the 22-year-old’s late runs and quality with the ball at his feet could have helped the Azzurri at some point in the second half when the ball didn’t want to get in and fear was rising on and off the pitch.
The use of subs was also debatable. Why did he introduce Giorgio Chiellini in the stoppages? Surely, Mancini wanted to give more certainties to his defenders in the final part of the match and prepare for extra time. On the contrary, players may have felt that time was over already. Unfortunately, Aleksandar Trajkovski didn’t think the same.