He’s said it before and repeated it on many occasions: he’s not interested in matching Vittorio Pozzo’s records but would much rather emulate the former two-time World Cup-winning Head Coach’s trophy success. But thanks to Italy’s victory over San Marino, Roberto Mancini has now gone 26 matches unbeaten as Italy Head Coach and has thus surpassed the undefeated streak achieved by Marcello Lippi between 2004 and 2006. He’s now just four behind Pozzo in this regard.

“We did better in the second half and started passing more quickly,” said Mancini after tonight’s game. “This was the important thing: the result was a given.” This evening’s match was Italy’s final fixture before the Head Coach decides the 26-man Azzurri squad for the European Championship: “I still have a few doubts. We need to decide between a pair of very talented players.” One of the best players on the pitch was Federico Bernardeschi, who can now see EURO 2020 on the horizon: “He’s always done well with us,” the Head Coach continued. “He helped us to qualify and we have no complaints about his performances. He’s a certainty.”

Moise Kean’s display wasn’t quite as good, with the striker being substituted at half-time: “He took a knock straight away and had a few issues. He’s done really well at PSG and is an important player. He also has big room for improvement.” As for Giacomo Raspadori, he joined up with the Under-21 squad today ahead of their upcoming European Championship quarter-final showdown with Portugal. “He’s done well in the last three months, we promised he could play for the U21s against Portugal and hope it all goes well. Then, we’ll see.”

Mancini praised Bernardeschi, who, in turn, had positive words for the boss: “I’d like to thank the Coach, who has always showed faith in me. He’s always played me where I can perform at my best, and when I enjoy myself my qualities emerge. I’ve always enjoyed myself here.

“This is a high-quality group and it’s not easy for the Head Coach to make decisions, we’ve all done well to give him a selection headache. We’ve been performing well for two years. A great group has been created, irrespective of who will be part of the Euros squad. This is an excellent group and credit must go to Mancini.”

Having both bagged a brace, Pessina and Politano couldn’t have done much more to convince the Head Coach to include them in his European Championship squad: “I believe I’ve showed what I can offer,” said the Atalanta midfielder. “However, this game won’t make the difference. I think that the Coach has already evaluated things, but I’m happy to have scored my first two goals for the National Team.” The Napoli man is also hoping for a call-up: “I’ve been giving the Coach a difficult choice to make for a year now. As long as there’s a chance…”

It was also a special evening for Leonardo Bonucci, who, prior to the match, was presented with an award by FIGC President Gabriele Gravina after reaching and surpassing 100 caps for Italy: “Reaching the milestone of 100 Azzurri appearances was important for me, and now we’re preparing to enjoy a great European Championship experience. There are teams that are slightly ahead of us, but we don’t feel inferior to anyone and want to surprise.” The Juventus defender has been happy with the first few days of training at the Forte Village: “We’re here after a year and a half without a long break, there hasn’t been much time to rest. The mix of morning training and time off in the afternoon has helped us regain enthusiasm as we get ready to do really well in the Euros.”