Mancini: Italy never died

Published on: 16 November 2018

Italy coach Roberto Mancini isn’t sure the Azzurri were as down and out as many believed, as they return to the San Siro for the first time since failing to reach the World Cup.

The Azzurri were held to a 0-0 draw with Sweden last November, a result that saw them miss out on a trip to Russia.

Mancini believes that while the path to return Italy to past glories is still a long one, he isn’t sure the team were as poor as many suggested despite their failures.

“Italy never died,” he told the assembled reporters at his pre-match press conference. “I remember those two matches, and the national team deserved to go through.

“San Siro has always responded well to the national team. This is football though, and it’s happened to every national team. Last year it happened to us. Going to the World Cup is very important.

“We have had to pull up our sleeves, but I think the road is still fairly long.”

Italy have never lost at the San Siro, and Mancini is hoping that support will push them past Portugal on Saturday. The Azzurri can still qualify for the Nations League finals with a win, but only if Poland gets a result over Portugal in the final match.

“We’d like to reach the final four, obviously,” he added. “We had to give our young players the chance to play in the opening matches and to make mistakes against the likes of Portugal.

“If you don’t play as a youngster, then it becomes very difficult. Our goal is to reach the European Championship. We have to think that in two years there will be young players with much more experience.

“I think things are going well, though morale was very low after failing to reach the World Cup. Time is needed as nobody has a magic wand. We’re improving match after match.

“There will be 50,000 fans pushing us to victory, so feeling pressure is normal, but I’ve experienced it over the years.”

Source: forzaitalianfootball.com

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