Roberto Mancini addressed reporters at Coverciano ahead of Italy’s upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against France and Belgium, as reported by gazzetta.it.
The Italy manager focused heavily on youth integration and squad planning while dismissing external pressure regarding team selections.
Mancini addressed questions regarding player selections, specifically defending his decision to omit Frosinone midfielder Alessandro Calò.
“Why didn’t I call up Calò? He is one of many guys who are doing well right now, and Frosinone has three or four good ones,” Mancini said, according to gazzetta.it. “But we cannot call up 29-30 year old players at this stage… When Calo is needed, we will call him up, but not because his agent tells us to.”
👋💙#Nazionale #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/1haS1bOnW9
The manager also discussed the inclusion of Udinese defender Palma, whose switch in sporting nationality was cleared by FIFA just prior to the squad announcement. According to sport.sky.it, Mancini noted that Palma was previously in the balance with Germany before choosing Italy.
Regarding Club Brugge forward Nicolò Tresoldi, who has featured for Germany’s Under-21 side, Mancini revealed that both he and technical figures had spoken to the player.
“With Tresoldi I spoke and Ranieri also spoke to him,” Mancini stated, as reported by sport.sky.it. “First of all I believe he must feel the desire to play for Italy. He was born in Italy like his father… I think there are possibilities that he chooses the Azzurro.”
Italy faces France on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at 20:45 local time, before traveling to face Belgium on Sunday, November 15, 2026.
Mancini expanded on his roster decisions, noting that Bernardeschi and Cristante are already well-known and do not require further testing at this moment, while Zaniolo must now find consistency to match his natural abilities. Discussing other individual talents, Mancini remarked that Lontani improves with every match and displays great technical quality and personality, while Cassano could potentially develop into the deep-lying playmaker the team currently lacks.
Regarding defensive and midfield additions, Mancini clarified that Palestra is strictly an offensive full-back rather than a winger who is returning from an injury, and praised young Como talent Mattia Liberali for his strong qualities despite limited Serie A experience.
Mancini also mentioned that Cisse can cover both attacking roles and that Tonali or other players can adapt to the playmaker position in the absence of a traditional regista like Jorginho.
Addressing the upcoming FIGC election day scheduled for December 14, 2026, Mancini criticized the actions of the players’ and coaches’ associations, AIC and AIAC, for switching their support to Galliani after previously voting for Malagò, stating, A me non crea nessun imbarazzo, ma sicuramente non hanno fatto una bella figura.
Regarding the structure of international football, Mancini discussed his relationship with Silvio Baldini and evaluated the tournament format, noting that scheduling four matches with travel in between makes it difficult to work effectively.
