Fifty-three days on from that 'Magical Night' at Wembley, tomorrow at 20.45 CEST the National Team returns to the pitch in Florence, where they’ll find a warm embrace from the fans, who will pay tribute to the Champions of Europe from the stands of the 'Artemio Franchi' while at the same trying to cheer on Italy toward three precious points on the way to the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Against Bulgaria, Mancini is looking for a fourth consecutive victory in the qualifiers, with a win also allowing him to equal the record of consecutive unbeaten results (35) held by Spain between 2007 and 2009. “I want to thank the fans who supported us during the European Championship - the coach began at a press conference - tomorrow we must do what we know how to do, the stakes are already very high and there must be no distractions”. The hope is that, on 11 July in London, Italy opened a new cycle, made up of beautiful play and successes: “For three years - explained Mancini - our hope has been to involve the boys in doing something different than in the past, something that could lead us to a cycle of important victories. We won the European Championship, and in 13-14 months we will have the World Cup. The goal is to keep playing like this, to qualify and then try to win it. But for now, we have to pay attention to the next three games which are decisive”.

Historically, the Azzurri have always struggled in September, when Serie A is in its infancy and opponents usually have more fuel in their legs. Better to be cautious then, even if the current Bulgaria side are a distant relative of the national team that faced Baggio and his teammates in the semi-final of the USA '94 World Cup. A team without stars, relegated to 75th place in the FIFA Rankings, and already beaten 2-0 six months ago in Sofia thanks to goals scored by Belotti and Locatelli: Coach Mancini warned: “The first match is always the trickiest because you’re coming back after some time. We need to have maximum concentration. But in these days we’ve evaluated the health of the players and it’s not so bad, they’ve had fewer holidays and their athletic condition is good”.

After announcing that the formation will be similar to that which lined up in the European final, the coach replied to those who asked him if Sarri’s new set-up could bring benefits to Immobile: "Ciro has always done well, as has Belotti. He just has to keep playing and stay calm. Sometimes it takes a bit more effort, also because some games were played at the highest level, but he and Gallo have always done what they had to do”.

Among the heroes of Wembley was Leonardo Bonucci, who scored his eighth and undoubtedly most important goal for the national team on 11 July: "The best moment - he declared at today’s press conference - was the team embrace after Gigio's save, even if at that moment some of us didn't realise that it was a decisive save. In that embrace, there was all the sacrifice, the hunger, and the desire to win the European Championship. Now we have found ourselves with the enthusiasm, and with friends and companions with whom we will be linked forever. We’ve also been joined by players who were already part of the group before the European Championship, so they know how to carry themselves”.

The important thing now is to look ahead and not rest on our laurels: “Now the race for the World Cup begins again, and the matches won’t be easy” underlined the Juventus defender. “We have to sit at the table knowing we are strong, but with the humility that distinguished us at the European Championship. Bulgaria are a good team at closing you down and countering. Tomorrow evening we’ll play a great game, with great energy that will come to us from the public. I'm sure the fans will give us a hand if we have a difficult time”.

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NOTE FOR EDITORS - By clicking on this link https://dam.gettyimages.com/s/vcm4ctkq7zbcqbkr9r8nqx86 you may download images from the Italy vs. Bulgaria press conference. The photos are may be used with the acknowledgement Credits: Getty for Figc.

Squad List

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Pierluigi Gollini (Tottenham), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (AC Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lione), Alessandro Florenzi (AC 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);
Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Juventus), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo).

Schedule (all times CEST)

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: How to access the Coverciano Federal Technical Centre (CTF) and 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. 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.