Roberto Mancini asserts that Italy has four or five young players on par with Jude Bellingham of England, but managers must have the guts to play them.
Italy will begin their campaign to defend the European Championship crown they won in 2021 with a qualifier against England in March after failing to make the World Cup last year.
Young players like Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham stood out during England’s march to the final eight in Qatar.
Roberto Mancini does not think that Italy lacks young, bright players. He thinks that the Azzurri’s issue is caused by coaches who are reluctant to give them elite experience.
“I think Italy have four or five talents with the quality of Bellingham, but they need to be given playing time,” Roberto Mancini said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“There are talented young people, I hope they can play and gain experience with their clubs to be useful to us.
“In England, the Netherlands or Germany, if a player is talented, he will be allowed to play. Here we’ve got four or five at this level, but they need to play.”
Italy finished below Switzerland in their World Cup qualification group with just 13 goals scored in eight games, and they then suffered a humiliating play-off loss to North Macedonia.
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