It was the National Team headquarters also during those magical nights this summer, and yesterday evening the Azzurri returned for the first time as European Champions. A month and a half after the triumph at Wembley, Chiellini and his teammates met again at Coverciano: Roberto Mancini decided to go again with the same group that gave Italy its second European title in history (only the injured Spinazzola was absent). They’ve been called up to conquer the qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar 2022.

Welcomed by the applause of the journalists there, the Coach sat down in the press room next to that trophy, and the images of that night in London were already on the screen at Coverciano. Mancini began the conference by saying that "we always joked about the fact that we had to win in order to put pictures here too, and they’ve done it. We won the Euros and made ourselves and 60 million Italians happy, we're proud to have brought joy to these people, from the 3-year-old kids to those 85 years of age. Everyone’s happy about what we did, even those who don't follow football". Mancini doesn’t fear that his National Team are satisfied and that, even unconsciously, they could underestimate the upcoming matches: "I don't think so, even at the European Championships the players showed that they know that to win you’ve always got to be fully concentrated".

At the top of the standings in Group C after winning the first three matches played in March, Italy can take qualification for granted in the three challenges that await them. They’ll play against Bulgaria (Florence, Stadio 'Artemio Franchi', September 2, 20:45 CEST), Switzerland (Basel, Stadio 'St. Jacobs Park', September 5, 20:45 CEST) and Lithuania (Reggio Emilia, Stadio del Tricolore, September 8, 20:45 CEST). The team will therefore try to extend the streak of 34 consecutive wins, with the world record held by Spain only 90 minutes away (35 matches without defeat between 2007 and 2009).

"We can improve in these 14 months between now and the World Cup", said Mancini, "but first we have to face five qualifying matches. The first objective is to reach the qualification, then we will think about the final phase and to prepare ourselves well". And to those who ask him if the success obtained through good play has made him a model for other coaches to follow, he replied saying "I wish it were so, but it is not. You have to play for fun and enjoy yourself, but you can also win in other ways. There have been other important victories with teams that played differently. You always need a good group, tight-knit, with enormous quality, then every coach thinks of playing in his own way, with his own ideas".

It is undeniable that the departures of champions like Ronaldo and Lukaku have taken some of the lustre away from the league, but Mancini is looking ahead to those youngsters who could put themselves on show in a Serie A league that has also lost Gigio Donnarumma: "The players who left Italy were taken by teams that are financially stronger, but they came here to reassert themselves. This means that our league is not so bad, then it's clear that it's a pity to lose them because young people always improve by watching the champions. I think there are young Italians who can have a great future in clubs and in the National Team. Donnarumma isn't playing? It's only because he arrived a little late compared to the other PSG players."

After Lazzari's injury, Mancini announced that Calabria is likely to be called up and in the meantime he’s happy to welcome back Nicolò Zaniolo, who returned to the National Team after a year following an injury last September during the Nations League match against the Netherlands: "The important thing is that Zaniolo is well and that he has recovered, there is no problem with our numbers”.

Having said that Jorginho deserves the Ballon d'Or ("he has been doing well for years and in 2021 he has won everything"), the Coach is focusing on two young strikers who could represent the future of the National Team: "We really regretted leaving Kean at home before the European Championship, but we told him that he would come back. He has to play well and behave like a professional. Scamacca has done all his training in the youth National Teams, we wanted to bring him in before to get to know him better, but there was no chance because he was with the Under-21s. He has different characteristics to other forwards and could be very useful to us in the future”.

NOTE FOR MEDIA – Click here to download photos from today’s press conference with Coach Roberto Mancini. The images can be used with the following acknowledgement Credits: Getty for Figc

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Pierluigi Gollini (Tottenham), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lione), Alessandro Florenzi (Milan), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Frello Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma);
Attackers: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Everton), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo).

Programme (all times CEST)

Monday 30 August
13:45 – Press conference with Coach at the Coverciano CTF Auditorium
17:30 – Training at the ‘Vittorio Pozzo’ pitch at Coverciano

Tuesday 31 August
13:45 – Press conference FIGC-LAPS Foundation at the Coverciano CFT Auditorium
14:00 - Player press conference at the Coverciano CTF Auditorium
17:30 - Training at the 'Vittorio Pozzo' pitch at Coverciano

Wednesday 1 September
17:30 – Italy press conference at the Coverciano CTF Auditorium
18:00 – Italy training at the 'Vittorio Pozzo' pitch at Coverciano
19:30 – Bulgaria press conference at the 'Franchi' stadium in Florence
20:00 – Bulgaria training at the 'Franchi' stadium in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

Thursday 2 September
20:45 – ITALY vs. Bulgaria (stadio ‘Franchi’ in Florence). Press conference after the match and return to Coverciano

Friday 3 September
11:30 – Training at the 'Vittorio Pozzo' pitch at Coverciano

Saturday 4 September
10:00 – Switzerland press conference at St. Jacob Park in Basel
11:00 – Switzerland Training at St. Jacob Park in Basel (open to the press the first 15')
11:00 – Transfer Florence-Basel
17:30 – Press conference ITALY at the St. Jacob Park in Basel
18:00 – ITALY training at the St. Jacob Park in Basel (open to the press the first 15')

Sunday 5 September
20:45 – Switzerland vs. ITALY (St. Jacob's Park stadium). Press conference after the match

Monday 6 September
11:30 – Training at the C.S. Basel (closed)
18:00 – Transfer Basel-Reggio Emilia

Tuesday 7 September
16:45 – ITALY press conference at the 'Città del Tricolore' stadium
17:15 – ITALY training at the 'Città del Tricolore' stadium (open to the press the first 15')
18:15 – Lithuania press conference at 'Città del Tricolore' stadium
18:45 - Lithuania training at 'Città del Tricolore' stadium (open to the press the first 15')

Wednesday 8 September

20:45 – ITALY vs. Lithuania (Città del Tricolore Stadium). At the end of the match, press conference, disbandment of the delegation and return of players and staff to their respective headquarters

INFO: way to access the Coverciano CTF and in the stadiums

Media access is not allowed to the training sessions at Coverciano. The images of the first 15 minutes will be produced and distributed by the FIGC (with technical costs borne by the applicant, info: m.reale@figc.it) live to the holder of the audio-visual rights and at the end of the session to the other applicants. Access to the press conference is limited to a small number of journalists (no cameramen or photographers are allowed), with compulsory spacing and masks; accredited participants will also be provided with a link to watch the conference remotely (Zoom). The images will in any case be produced and distributed live to the holder of the audiovisual rights and at the end of the event to the other applicants (with technical costs borne by the applicant, info: m.reale@figc.it).

A selection of training and press conference photos will be made available to the media with a link on the figc.it website. The access to the CTF of Coverciano, as well as to the stadiums of Florence and Reggio Emilia, is allowed only with a green pass or an antigenic swab within the last 48 hours.