Shunned at home, Mancini's new start sinks against Belgium

Roberto Mancini experienced his second debut in charge of the Italian national team in a home defeat against Belgium in Friday evening's Nations League at the Stadio Olimpico. The fans expressed their disappointment with whistles after the goals of Mika Godts and Dodi Lukebakio.

The final score was 0-2 for Italy, with Godts opening the scoring in the tenth minute and Lukebakio sealing the net in the thirty‑second. The Stadio Olimpico was half empty, and the crowd responded with a wave of whistles towards the Italian side.

Player Ratings described the Azzurri's performance as “soulless”, giving midfielder Sandro Tonali a “Tottenham‑in‑form” rating. The overall assessment highlighted the lack of identity and tactical weakness.

Press reactions

defined Mancini's team “dirtier and uglier” than before, admitting Belgium's superiority but attributing the result to the numerous Italian errors.

The Pink Paper accused the Azzurri of lacking identity, being tactically unprepared and committing too many mistakes that led directly to the goals, adding: “Italy was confused, frightened, devoid of ideas and overwhelmed by a Belgian side that never truly reacted.”

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Il Corriere dello Sport observed that the national team “came back from Zenica, but stayed there for the entire first half”, describing the players as “worried, frightened and paralyzed in the face of another defeat”, and recalled that “the ghosts of Zenica are still present.”

Tuttosport identified only two players worthy of praise: goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who prevented a heavier result, and winger Nicolo Cambiaghi, who created the few attacking chances for Italy.

La Stampa called the defeat “no surprise”, arguing that the new phase of the national team began “in the worst way”, and criticised veterans Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Barella, Gianluca Mancini and Giovanni Di Lorenzo for their performance.

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La Repubblica agreed on Belgium's dominance, but emphasized that more was expected from Mancini; it described the first half “an absolute disaster” and compared the Azzurri's mistakes to those of a beginner's team.

Consequences in the standings

The result left the Azzurri at the bottom of their Nations League group, with the next match against Turkey, followed by France and Turkey again within two weeks, making a response urgent to avoid elimination.