It does not count for first place, but Italy still want to end the season with a victory. In Enschede (15 CEST), the Azzurri face the hosts Netherlands in the third place playoff final in the Nations League: the goal is to podium, as in the last edition, the one played between Milan and Turin in October 2021. "After Spain I was disappointed with the match, I thought we could win and I was really looking forward to it. But the discouragement does not exist, there is only the sorrow for the defeat - explained coach Roberto Mancini in the press conference on the eve of the match -. That against the Netherlands is an international match, it must be played well and we must try to win it".

In order to do so, Mancini announced some changes compared to the match lost on Thursday against Spain. "There will be space for Retegui, also because it was planned that with Immobile they would play one game each," Mancini explained. "The players are tired, they cannot be 100%. In these days we have tried to make them recover". Changes, those of Mancini, that are part of a renewal work already begun in recent months. 'If we qualified for these finals, with players that some people didn't even know, it means that the project has already started. But in this end-of-season phase there was also the Under-20 World Cup and there are the Under-21 European Championships, and I had to leave some players behind (Scalvini and Bastoni in the Under-21, ed). In addition, we don't have Bastoni available, who fell ill the day before leaving. Bonucci? He made a mistake but he has always been an important player, then it's clear that when age advances everything ends, it's true for every player".

Alongside Mancini in the press conference was Giacomo Raspadori. "It is up to us youngsters on the pitch to give answers and show that this cycle can have a continuation - explained the Napoli forward -. We have to do our best in our respective clubs and then do the same in the national team. After the happiness of the European Championship and the failure to qualify for the World Cup, we have gained a lot of experience'. Raspadori, who admits that "the Azzurri is a dream for every kid who starts playing football", also speaks about his favourite position on the pitch: "By nature I feel more suited to central midfield, but also starting from other areas you can get to be decisive".