The perfect evening. Just what was needed after the draws with Bulgaria and Switzerland. The rejoicing in the stands in Reggio Emilia for the 5-0 win over Lithuania, the brace from Moise Kean, the first Azzurri goals for Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, the draw between Switzerland in Northern Ireland. Roberto Mancini has a thousand reasons to be satisfied: “Despite the absences of several players, the young players responded well. The opposition didn't offer much but scoring five or six goals is never easy. Switzerland's draw shows that you can always slip up, but the important thing is to stay calm and collected. This way we won't have any problems”.

It was the night for the boys born in 2000: Moise Kean and Giacomo Raspadori. “Raspadori is a ready boy. He stayed with us from the European Championship. He has quality, he’s young and he needs to gain experience. The same goes for Kean, it's all in their heads and their feet. If they do what they know how to, they have a great future, but it’s all up to them”. In the middle of the pitch, meanwhile, Mancini asked for a big effort from Jorginho: “I had left out Bonucci who is important to us, and we needed someone who could dictate the game, so I asked him if he could help us at least for a while”. No national team has ever been able to put in a series of 37 consecutive unbeaten results: "We are happy", Mancini concluded.

Italy‘s happiness was plain to be seen in the smile of Moise Kean, who had already scored for the Azzurri but managed to score a brace tonight in Reggio Emilia: “It was important to take back my shirt and give 100%. Watching the European Championship from home wasn’t easy but I cheered on my teammates on TV and they did well to bring home the cup, which is the most important thing. It all depends on the work and the seriousness with which you play: My teammates welcomed me well, I'm working every day, I'm back with a new mindset and with the aim of helping them”.

Giacomo Raspadori, on the other hand, scored in his own stadium, the Città del Tricolore: A night he will never forget. “It's hard to comprehend what happened. A beautiful moment, because it happened in the stadium of the team where I grew up, and in front of my family. I'm happy, too bad we couldn’t have scored a few more goals, but the first half was excellent. Mancini told me to have fun, to make the most of the opportunity, which for a young man like me is the most important thing”. Over the course of these days in Coverciano, Raspadori has divided his time between training and studying: “I'm preparing for the anatomy exam that I will have at the end of October. I continue to study because I have always thought that it could be something that can go hand in hand with my sporting commitments”.

On an evening of first goals for the national team, there was not just one for Raspadori: Giovanni Di Lorenzo also got on the scoresheet. "I wanted to cross but the ball went in”, he admitted. “I'm happy for my first goal in the Azzurri shirt, but above all for the win because it was really important to bring home the three points. Mancini has always told us to stay calm and do what we’ve always done in recent months. We may not be so brilliant at the beginning of the season, but tonight we scored a lot of goals and we’re happy for the win and for a truly incredible record that we will try to extend even further”.