“There will be a few changes but not a lot. Making these decisions is the most difficult thing, all the players are so good that it’s not that easy to decide.” On the eve of Italy’s Euro 2020 qualifying match against Bosnia and Herzegovina (the game will kick off at 20:45 CEST at the Juventus Stadium), Roberto Mancini mentioned in advance that there will be some new faces in Italy’s starting line-up compared to the match against Greece.

However, he didn’t name any names and preferred to speak about the team: “There are times when things go wrong, it was a strong Italy side that failed to qualify for the World Cup. Things like this can happen. I think that after this disappointment there’s been extra incentive, something different and greater. Italy has always produced good players, we needed time.”

19 goals have been scored to date through 15 different goalscorers. Goals from the Azzurri’s forwards have been missing, however: “It’s an anomaly,” said Mancini. “But I expect the goals to come. What counts the most for the time being is how the team play. Against Greece, Belotti didn’t score but set up the first goal and created two further opportunities from which we could have scored.”

The Azzurri have only met Bosnia and Herzegovina once previously, a friendly which they lost 2-1 in 1996 in Sarajevo. It was the last game of Head Coach Arrigo Sacchi’s reign, with Cesare Maldini replacing him shortly after. But Mancini doesn’t allow himself to be influenced by such matters: “By nature, I’m always relaxed. When you play you always need to do some studying. I’m here because I enjoy it, I like coaching the boys – they’re all great lads with quality. It’s a pleasure for me. It’s certainly the case that we need to remain alert. You only need to look back to a few days ago, Turkey aren’t all too different to Greece but beat France 2-0. If we don’t give our all, you’re running a risk at this level. Bosnia come into the match on the back of a defeat, it’ll be a different game.”

Italy’s Head Coach continued: “I also think that Bosnia are strong contenders to qualify. I believe their match against Finland was an off day. This is why an Italy side playing to their maximum is required. We need to continue to win to improve our ranking, we don’t deserve to be in the position we’re in. We’re working to entertain people. We could also win with a more traditional game or by waiting on the opposition, but I want to offer something new. However, the road ahead is still long.”

Squad

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Pierluigi Gollini (Atalanta); Salvatore Sirigu (Torino), Antonio Mirante (Roma);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Armando Izzo (Torino), Gianluca Mancini (Atalanta), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Cagliari), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Frello Filho Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Chelsea), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Sassuolo), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma);

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Vincenzo Grifo (Friburgo), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Juventus), Leonardo Pavoletti (Cagliari), Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria).

Staff – Head Coach: Roberto Mancini; National Team Coordintaor: Gabriele Oriali; Assistant Coaches: Alberico Evani, Attilio Lombardo, Giulio Nuciari, Fausto Salsano; Fitness coaches: Claudio Donatelli and Andrea Scanavino; Goalkeeping coach: Massimo Battara; Match Analyst: Antonio Gagliardi; Doctors: Andrea Ferretti and Carmine Costabile; Physiotherapist: Maurizio Fagorzi, Emanuele Randelli, Fabrizio Scalzi, Luca Lascialfari, Fabio Sannino; Hosteopath: Walter Marinelli; Nutritionist: Matteo Pincella.