When this Friday (8.45 p.m. on DAZN) the Italian national team meets England in the Nations League in Milan, the “Festival dello Sport” has already begun in the small town of Trento, 200 kilometers away. Not a few glances go to this event of the sports newspaper “La Gazzetta dello Sport”, which mainly deals with the glorious past of Italian football.
Gianluigi Buffon, 2006 World Champion, is interviewed. The “ragazzi del 1982”, the Italian World Cup winners from 1982, also have their say. Giorgio Chiellini, the 2021 European champion who has since retired from the national team, can also say something. The Los Angeles FC defender has just confessed to the British newspaper The Times: “We are devastated that we are not at the World Cup for the second time in a row, I never expected that.”
So much for the rather sad present of the squadra azzurra, which continues to digest the non-participation in the most important football tournament. In March, Roberto Mancini’s relatively freshly crowned European champions lost in the play-off against North Macedonia in Palermo, and the World Cup ticket was gone. Four years earlier, Italy had already missed the World Cup tournament, which is why many eyes are now on Trento and some on Canada, Mexico and the USA, where the next World Cup will be played in four years. Then again with Italy?
Relegated to League B?
“You get older,” says Ciro Immobile, “but if I’m in the mood I am now, I can still contribute something in 2026.” Participation in the World Cup is one of the goals he has set himself, says the 32-year-old striker from Lazio Rome.
Immobile is something of a straw for national coach Mancini to hold on to in the next two Nations League games against England and Hungary (Monday). The 5-2 defeat against Germany in June didn’t help motivation. Failure to win against England and Hungary could mean relegation to League B for Italy, and tougher opponents in EURO qualifiers.
Not all rosy prospects. Former Dortmund midfielder Ciro Immobile is Mancini’s anchor along with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Although the Lazio man has not stopped scoring at club (five goals already this season), he has only netted 15 in 54 games for Italy. “It annoys me that I’m not seen as the striker that made Italy European champions, but because of whom Italy missed out on the World Cup twice,” says Immobile.
In fact, it can only be explained with carelessness and arrogance how Italy gambled away their participation in the World Cup and thus maneuvered themselves into a footballing depression. Mancini has to try out new staff, because many of the pillars of 2021 can no longer be relied on at the moment. EM hero Federico Chiesa is still recovering from his cruciate ligament rupture, Marco Verratti is injured, Leonardo Spinazzola has canceled due to exhaustion.
“Then stupid things happen”
Chiellini has resigned, captain Leonardo Bonucci is deep in crisis with Juventus Turin. Jorginho, Italy’s metronome at the European Championship, is lagging behind his form and his two penalties missed in the World Cup qualifier against Switzerland, the newspaper La Repubblica suspects. The former bundle of energy Nicolò Barella is no longer progressing as desired at Inter Milan.
“We’ve lost our enthusiasm,” claims Immobile, seeded against England and Hungary. He also doesn’t know why he scores fewer goals for the national team than for the club. “I ask myself that almost every day. Why? Maybe I can make more mistakes with Lazio, there is more pressure with the azzurri and if you overdo, stupid things happen.”
He was top scorer four times in Italy, “but I’m struggling here”. National coach Mancini can only think positively. Two wins against England and Hungary, goals from Immobile or whatever, maybe a place in the Final Four. That would be the ideal and only possible cure for the great Italian tristezza.
