SoccerSep 26
Italy jeered as Mancini return ends in Belgium defeat
Belgium won 2-0 in Rome to give Mark van Bommel a successful debut, while Roberto Mancini's return brought another setback for Italy.
By OddsListing wire desk
· 2 min read
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Frustration follows Mancini's return
Roberto Mancini's return to the Italy bench ended with a 2-0 Nations League defeat against Belgium on Friday, leaving the Azzurri facing renewed frustration after their World Cup qualifying failure. Playing for the first time since March's playoff loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy struggled to turn the page. Mancini retained eight players who had been regulars during qualifying, but goals from Mika Godts and Dodi Lukébakio gave Belgium the victory in Mark van Bommel's opening match as coach. The crowd of 47,155 at the 70,000-seat Stadio Olimpico began whistling after Belgium went ahead, and the home side faced loud jeers at full time. Mancini accepted the reaction as a consequence of losing.
Belgium punish Italy on the break
Diego Coppola, deputising for the suspended Alessandro Bastoni, could not recover in time to prevent the finish. Lukébakio added Belgium's second midway through the second half, striking from outside the area on another break despite Sandro Tonali's attempt to intervene. Riccardo Calafiori acknowledged that Italy had allowed too much space and could have prevented both goals.
Difficult schedule ahead
Mancini, who guided Italy to the European Championship title in 2021, is back after leaving the role in August 2023 to take charge of Saudi Arabia. His side now visit Türkiye on Monday and France next Friday before hosting Türkiye in Bologna to finish this phase of their Nations League schedule.
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