Mancini: Italy is optimistic about Qatar

Roberto Mancini sets the balance sheet for 2021 that will be remembered for him and the national team, with the impressive victory in the European Championship. “If I think about going back to the final – Mancini told Sky Sports in anticipation of an interview that will be broadcast live at Christmas – I can say that I wish I hadn’t had to go to penalties, after 120 minutes and in front of 75,000 spectators. There is always fear but we have known the motivation of the whole nation. We knew we had to make a great European, but we also had to put something more to get to the end. We did something extraordinary and made millions of people happy: it’s the most beautiful thing we can all be proud of. But the European Championship is behind us, and now we have to think about another thing “.

CR7 on the horizon

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Moreover, that joy has become a bit of a concern due to the lack of direct qualification for the World Cup and the possibility of having to face Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in the qualifiers. “There are regrets, but this is football, it’s a sport. Sometimes you deserve to win and you don’t win, we deserved to finish the group early. We let ourselves go a little bit and now we have to roll up our sleeves and do a great job in both games. But I remain optimistic, Because I knew our group with Switzerland would be difficult. I thought about passing, but I knew it was going to be difficult. He dominated the game in Basel but this is football fortunately we still have that possibility and we have to do everything we can to go to Qatar.” But before facing Macedonia and after that, if Portugal or Turkey succeed, will the Blues get a training period? “We will find a way to see each other. New faces? It also depends on the moment of the championship. There may be one who is in better shape than the other. The most important thing is for each of them to be healthy. There are many players who are still improving. Joao Pedro He has been playing in Italy for many years, and we know that he has high technical qualities.” There is also a question about Zaniolo, who plays the role of the second striker: does Mancini like him in this role? “I like this role. There are many players who can grow a lot.”