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And now there is just one final hurdle to overcome. The national team has arrived in Brussels, where tomorrow evening (8:45 PM, live on Rai 1, with Norwegian referee Eskas in charge) they will face Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium, with a place in the Nations League quarterfinals at stake. A draw will be enough for the Azzurri to qualify, while a win would guarantee them top spot in the group. Who would have expected that two months ago?
BELGIUM HANDED ITALY THEIR ONLY GROUP DEFEAT. Belgium, meanwhile, have only one possible outcome if they are to progress. On September 25th, they handed Italy their only defeat of Roberto Mancini’s second spell in charge, winning in Rome. It was a result that offered little encouragement, but after that false start, the Azzurri quickly bounced back, recording three wins and a draw against France and Turkey to move to the top of the group. “Despite the defeat, I was fairly positive even after our first game against Belgium,” the head coach explained. “The players had responded well in the second half. Being here with qualification in our hands, and even with a slight advantage because we're top of the group, is a source of pride. We'll approach the game as we always do, against a technical and fast team. I don't think Belgium are that far behind France in terms of quality. They were knocked out by Spain in the final minute at the World Cup. In any case, we're here to win and qualify.”
The comeback win over France confirmed that this national team has plenty of character and the courage to take the game to opponents who may be stronger on paper. Having fallen behind twice, in Paris a month ago and again in Milan on Thursday, Italy found the strength to fight back and overturn their deficits. “Difficult spells are part of every game,” Mancini stressed. “At those moments, a team has to be able to defend and dig deep. The players did well to weather the storm against France in the first 20 minutes before getting back to playing their football. That's very positive. Our mentality is to attack, not sit back and wait.”
A WIN WOULD TAKE MANCINI PAST BEARZOT. Having drawn level with Enzo Bearzot on 40 wins as Italy head coach, Mancini would move ahead of the 1982 World Cup-winning coach with a victory tomorrow, becoming the outright second-most successful coach in Azzurri history, behind only Vittorio Pozzo (63 wins). “The players know there's work to do and that every game brings its own challenges. But we also know we have quality, and that we'll continue to improve.”
Italy will field a different lineup in Brussels from the one that faced France, particularly as Mancini has had to do without two of the standout performers against Les Bleus, Davide Frattesi and Nicolò Cambiaghi, over the past two days. “We were hoping Cambiaghi would recover. We gave it a try this morning, but unfortunately he was still feeling pain. Tomorrow we'll assess the condition of those who have put in a lot of work, but I don't think we'll make too many changes.”
SCALVINI AND DE KETELAERE: CLUBMATES TURNED OPPONENTS. Among the standout performers in the win over France was Giorgio Scalvini, who stood up to the challenge posed by Olise and his teammates while partnering Bastoni in central defense. Bastoni, another product of Atalanta's youth academy, had often been compared to Scalvini and was a role model for him during his time in the club's youth setup. “It was a positive performance against France. We're trying to recover our energy for tomorrow. We'll give everything and make sure we have the right attitude. We're determined to go further.”
One of Belgium's key players is Charles De Ketelaere, Scalvini's teammate at Atalanta. “We have a great relationship, but tomorrow we'll be opponents. He's a fantastic player, an unconventional forward who's good at holding up the ball, but also at dribbling and attacking space. Both of us will be looking to help our team get the win.”
UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – GROUP A1: FIXTURES, RESULTS AND STANDINGS
MATCHDAY 1 (SEPTEMBER 25TH)
Italy 0-2 Belgium
Turkey 0-1 France
MATCHDAY 2 (SEPTEMBER 28TH)
Turkey 1-4 Italy
Belgium 0-1 France
MATCHDAY 3 (OCTOBER 2ND)
France 1-1 Italy
Belgium 3-0 Turkey
MATCHDAY 4 (OCTOBER 5TH)
Italy 3-1 Turkey
France 4-1 Belgium
MATCHDAY 5 (NOVEMBER 12TH)
Turkey 1-2 Belgium
Italy 3-1 France
Standings: Italy and France 10 points, Belgium 9, Turkey 0.
MATCHDAY 6 (NOVEMBER 15TH)
8:45 PM: Belgium vs. Italy – King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
8:45 PM: France vs. Turkey – Stade Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux