Italy director general Michele Uva admits winning the Nations League group isn’t necessarily the priority. “Our first objective is to qualify for Euro 2020.”
Their clash with Portugal kicks off in Lisbon at the Estadio da Luz at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
Click here for the line-ups and the LIVEBLOG.
Italy director general Michele Uva admits winning the Nations League group isn’t necessarily the priority. “Our first objective is to qualify for Euro 2020.”
Their clash with Portugal kicks off in Lisbon at the Estadio da Luz at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
Click here for the line-ups and the LIVEBLOG.
“The Coach makes the choices, he pondered these picks and it’s a sign of the generational shift, even if we still need many players who bring their experience. It’s an important moment for the Nazionale,” he told Rai Sport.
“Naturally, our first objective is to qualify for Euro 2020. Mancini has just arrived, after all. However, Italy can never play to lose or to experiment. The Coach is trying to win with the players who most stood out so far this season at club level.
“There is a lot of negativity around the side. You could look at a poor first half against Poland or a much stronger second half, but people only focused on the negative.
“There were around 30 per cent of Italians sitting in front of the television to watch that game and we all love the Nazionale, but progress means there are these developmental stages we need to go through.
“This is the first edition of the Nations League, I think it’s a wonderful tournament that is giving something different to the friendlies there were before.
“We want to organise the Final Four. It’d be a lot more work, but we’d happily take that on anyway.”