With an Expanded Squad and Young Faces, Mancini Announces His Plan to Rebuild Italy

Al-Taj News –

Three years after his departure — a spell that included winning the UEFA European Championship and the disappointing absence from the 2022 World Cup — Roberto Mancini is returning to lead the Italian national team’s coaching staff, adopting the motto “win as soon as possible,” beginning with the UEFA Nations League campaign.

Mancini was appointed in late July in a “rescue mission” following Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, marking the four-time world champions’ third consecutive absence from the global finals.

Mancini previously coached the Azzurri between 2018 and 2023, leading them to European glory in the summer of 2021, but failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after the shock defeat to North Macedonia in the playoffs. The failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup against Bosnia and Herzegovina caused an upheaval in Italian football, resulting in the resignation of coach Gennaro Gattuso, team director Gianluigi Buffon, and federation president Gabriele Gravina, who was succeeded by Giovanni Malagò.

At a press conference held on Monday at the national team’s training center in Coverciano, Mancini outlined the features of his new era, saying: “My principle is to have a team that imposes its dominance, plays good football, and always gives its best. We cannot always win, but we start from one idea: winning.”

The coach, who had a brief spell with the Saudi national team before returning to his country, added: “To win, we must be a team that plays well and enjoys what it does. This is my concept.”

Regarding his expanded squad of 34 players, which included young names such as Issa Doumbia and Mohamed Ali Zouma, Mancini explained: “If we want to build a strong team for the future, we have to quickly identify the players who are capable of helping us, especially the young ones. That is why we want to see them on the pitch.”

Italy will begin its rebuilding campaign with a major clash against Belgium on Friday in Rome, in the opening round of Group A of the UEFA Nations League. It will continue its campaign by facing Türkiye on September 28, followed by France on October 2, before hosting Türkiye again on October 5 in Bologna.