After the opening match of the World Cup between the hosts Qatar and Ecuador, tomorrow night (20.45pm, live on Rai 1 - refereed by the German Dingert) the Azzurri will take to the pitch at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna to face Austria in the last friendly match of a 2022 that will unfortunately be remembered for failing to qualify for the World Cup: "The suffering is there" - admits Roberto Mancini from the press room of the Ernst Happel Stadion - "and it will be there from tomorrow until mid-December. The boys have immediately shown the desire to start again, even in the Nations League by winning a group that was far from easy. My favourite for the World Cup? There are many strong teams, if I had to choose one I would say Argentina: they did very well against us".

Tomorrow the national team will be looking for their fourth consecutive victory after September's Nations League wins against England and Hungary and Wednesday's 3-1 comeback in Albania. They face Austria, who like Italy will not take part in the World Cup. The two sides have played many times since the beginning of the 1900s. The balance of past matches is in favour of the Azzurri (18 victories, 8 draws and 12 defeats), undefeated in 60 years having never managed to win in their first 10 games. The first victory dates back to 1931, and they most recently faced off at EURO 2020 when Italy won 2-1 in extra time after an Arnautovic goal was ruled out by VAR at 0-0: a goal that could have rewritten the history of an unforgettable European Championship for us. And it is the Bologna striker, his team's top scorer with 33 goals in 104 appearances, who is the number one danger for the national team led by Germany's Ragnick: "The match is a good test," said the coach, "especially for the younger players. This will be a more difficult match and will make us understand if what we saw against Albania can be repeated. The match against Austria was one of the toughest matches of the European Championship, although we thoroughly deserved to win it. They have several good players who play in the Bundesliga and are used to a fast pace. And then there is Arnautovic, who is one of the best talents of the last 15 years.

After having already shown in the September matches that they could easily play with a three-man defence, in Tirana the national team also felt at ease in the transition from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3, a formation that Mancini could also reuse against Austria: "Yes, it is probable - confirmed the coach, announcing that there will be changes in the starting eleven - we will evaluate tomorrow. If with Albania Fagioli, Pinamonti and Pafundi made their debut, tomorrow could be the turn of Fabiano Parisi and Fabio Miretti, the only ones of the Azzurri group, together with goalkeepers Provedel and Vicario, who have not yet played a minute in the national team. What is certain is that the coach continues to focus on young players, not only with words but with actions: 'Those we have called up are giving us positive answers, the situation is good. Even the boys who have come here for the first time, even if they have played little. This is the only way to improve. One who, despite being very young, already looks like a good presence is Giacomo Raspadori, who also played an excellent match in Tirana: 'He has great quality. He is young, he is improving considerably, and he can play in any role. He can be a centre forward and also play together with another striker'.

With Mancini in the press room was Matteo Pessina, who scored the second goal of his European Championship in Austria, securing the victory in extra time: "The European Championship was a great boost for my career and for that of many of my teammates. We will always carry it with us. Being here today, as the first Monza player, is a source of pride for me, for all the people of Monza and for Dr Galliani, who was moved when I was called up". Having said that, the past, or rather the failure to qualify for the World Cup, continues to hurt ("It still stings, we all wanted to go to Qatar"), the future is in our hands, or rather in the feet, of the many youngsters that Mancini is continuing to play: "I like their approach, they are all youngsters with the mentality that can give something to the national team.

The Squad List

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Empoli);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Inter), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Fabiano Parisi (Empoli), Giorgio Scalvini (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Fabio Miretti (Juventus), Matteo Pessina (Monza), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds), Vincenzo Grifo (Friburgo), Simone Pafundi (Udinese), Andrea Pinamonti (Sassuolo), Matteo Politano (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma).