In Italy, Roberto Mancini has taken charge of the national football team for a second time after the team failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Previous coach Gennaro Gattuso resigned, while Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina and national team delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon also left their posts.
As Sky Sports News reports, Mancini led Italy to victory at Euro 2020 five years ago. Italy’s last appearance in a World Cup play-off match remains the 2006 tournament, when the team won the title. Since then, Italy have won only one match at World Cups — against England in 2014.
Problems with young players
National team captain Gianluigi Donnarumma called the team’s absence from three consecutive World Cups a painful issue. According to him, the footballers must work to return Italy to the appropriate level, while experienced players should help young players adapt to the team.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, Italy had 413 football “exports” in 2020–2025 and ranked 24th in the world by this indicator. The other four countries from the top five European leagues exceeded the mark of 1,000 such players.
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In 2025, footballers under the age of 21 received only 1.9% of playing time in Serie A — the second-lowest figure among the world’s 50 leading leagues. From June 2025 to February 2026, only one footballer who played for the Italy national team was younger than 24 — Inter forward Pio Esposito.
Mancini’s renewed squad
Mancini’s first squad after his return included 34 footballers, including nine who had not played for the national team and 11 players under the age of 23. The young players named include 18-year-old Borussia Dortmund forward Samuele Inacio, Michael Kayode of Brentford, Esposito, Ali Zoma of Nuremberg, and Sporting midfielder Issa Doumbia.
In the Nations League, Italy will play in Group A, where its opponents will be Belgium, Turkey and France.
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