Gianluca Vialli supported his friend Roberto Mancini ahead of Italy’s fairly meaningless friendly match against Turkey tomorrow.
The Azzurri suffered a bitterly painful 1-0 World Cup play-off loss to North Macedonia last week, knocking them out of contention for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar later this year. A squad overhaul is expected and nine players have already withdrawn from Coverciano ahead of tomorrow’s friendly.
Writing on his Instagram page, Vialli posted a photo of himself and Mancini embracing.
“I love you more now than I did in July! Good luck with the game tomorrow.”
The 57-year-old Vialli is part of Mancini’s Azzurri staff, joining the team in November 2019. He is the squad’s coordinator and is a valued and well-respected member of the staff.
Mancini has decided not to resign as Italy coach following the play-off loss, instead wanting to turn things around and build a strong foundation ahead of Euro 2024. A new-look squad is expected in tomorrow’s friendly against Turkey, with players like Gianluca Scamacca and Sandro Tonali ready to get some minutes under their belts.
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