First the ranking, then the Nations League. After the great success in the Netherlands, the National team is set to play a mini ‘tour de force’, taking on three matches over eight days. Tomorrow, the Azzurri will face Moldova at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence. Kick-off is at 20:45 CEST tomorrow. This is not the first time playing against Bosnia Herzegovina, but this time it’s a match with no points up for grabs. Nonetheless, it is still important not to lose ground in the FIFA rankings, considering the upcoming draw for the World Cup qualifiers, where the top ten European national teams will be drawn in the ten groups. Italy are currently seventh (and 12th in the world standings), and are aware that any wrong move against Moldova could crush their dreams of reaching Qatar 2022: “We want to confirm what has been done so far,” Roberto Mancini reiterated in a press conference, “the rankings are very important, we cannot compromise what we’ve worked so hard on in recent months with tomorrow’s match. We’ve recovered eight to nine positions, we would like to get back more before the World Cup qualification.”

The Azzurri haven’t suffered a defeat for over two years (the last loss was on 10 September 2018 in Portugal) and they want to continue their unbeaten run of 16 games (thirteen wins and three draws). They will face an opponent who have gone down to 175th place in the rankings and who they have beaten in all four matches played in World Cup qualification between 1996 and 2005: “Moldova could shut up shop like Bosnia, who defended a lot. We mustn’t rush things. We’ve already played games like this and for the large part they went well. The team for tomorrow will be different from recent games, and there’ll also be the opportunity to let the lads play who have not yet had the chance.”

Given that the closing of the transfer market raised and dashed hopes for the fans, with some Azzurri players swapping teams and other transfers not going through. “Chiesa is an important player, with him playing before at Fiorentina and now at Juventus. I hoped that Emerson would find a team to get regular game-time”, Mancini’s Italy, by playing good football and producing good results are uniting the country more and more. “It’s really heart-warming for us to see that the National Team attracts so many fans and that people (even if they’re at home right now) watch the match on TV. It means that the guys are having fun and that’s what hits home the most.”

Tomorrow the National team will take to the field wearing armbands to honour the memory of the former National team doctor and the creator of the Museo del Caldio di Coverciano, Fino Fini: “I’m very sad about what’s happened. The coach created history for Italian football which is part of his memory.”

Alongside Mancini at the press conference sat Francesco Caputo, who has already recorded three goals in the league after having netted 21 in the previous season. The Sassuolo forward now dreams of marking his debut with the National team with a goal and tomorrow, as Mancini reaffirmed, he could get his chance: “he could star here since he brings the beer”, jokes the manager making reference to the artisanal beer made by Caputo, before going on to add: “he´s every chance of playing. He’s been scoring for some time and he’s a good lad that deserves to be here.”

Even though there’s strong competition for places up front, Caputo has already shown his ability to climb up the hierarchy: “I know that Immobile and Belotti are in front of me. The first won the Golden Boot and ‘il Gallo’ performs brilliantly in the league. But I’m here to play my cards right and try to play, no matter what”. And to those that compare him to Toto Schillaci he stated: “It’s a nice comparison to be linked with a player from the past. I’m enjoying every moment and I hope to make the most of this opportunity”. He remains in waiting for his magical night.

Click here for the press guidelines (Italian)
Click here to download the photos from the press conference

Squad

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Marco Silvestri (Hellas Verona), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), *Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), *Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Danilo D’Ambrosio (Inter), Emerson Palmieri Dos Santos (Chelsea), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint Germain), Manuel Lazzari (Lazio), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (West Ham United), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Giacomo Bonaventura (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);

Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenua), Vincenzo Grifo (Friburgo), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Moise Kean (Everton), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna).

Schedule

Wednesday 7 October

14:00 CEST – FIGC-RAI press conference Coverciano

20:45 CEST – ITALY VS. MOLDOVA (friendly) at the Artemio Franchi

Press conference following the game

Thursday 8 October

16:30 CEST – Training (behind closed doors)** at Coverciano

Friday 9 October

10:30 CEST – Training (behind closed doors)** at Coverciano

13:30 CEST – Media duties (player) in the auditorium at Coverciano

17:30 CEST – Travel from Florence to Venice

Saturday 10 October

10:45 CEST – Travel from Venice to Gdansk

11:00 CEST – POLAND training (open for the first 15 mins) at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

13:15 CEST – POLAND press conference at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

17:30 – ITALY press conference at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

18:00 CEST – ITALY training (open for the first 15 mins) at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

Sunday 11 October

20:45 CEST – POLAND VS. ITALY (UNL matchday 3) at the Energa Arena in Gdansk

Press conference following the game

Monday 12 October

11:00 CEST – Training (behind closed doors) in Gdansk

17:45 CEST – Travel from Gdansk to Bergamo

Tuesday 13 October

16:30 CEST – NETHERLANDS press conference*** at the Stadio di Bergamo

17:00 CEST – NETHERLANDS training (open for the first 15 mins) at the Stadio di Bergamo

17:30 CEST – ITALY press conference*** at the Stadio di Bergamo

18:00 CEST – ITALY TRAINING (open for the first 15 mins) at the Stadio di Bergamo

Wednesday 14 October

20:45 CEST – ITALY V NETHERLANDS (UNL matchday 4) at the Stadio di Bergamo

Press conference following the game

* images from the event will distributed by the FIGC after it has finished

** 15 minutes of images will be produced and distributed by the FIGC

*** access to the press room will be limited to a reduced number of media members, feeds are available on screens at the stadium.