Roberto Mancini returns as Italy head coach to rebuild Azzurri after third straight World Cup miss
Mancini back at the helm as Italy seek revival
Roberto Mancini is back as Italy head coach after a second spell in charge of the Azzurri, returning to the role he last held after leading Italy to Euro 2020 glory. The appointment comes after Italy missed out on a third World Cup in a row, a 48-team tournament that did not include the four-time champions.
The failure prompted the resignations of head coach Gennaro Gattuso, Italian FA president Gabriele Gravina and Gianluigi Buffon as the team’s head of delegation. Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma told Sky Sports: "It's a sensitive subject that affects me a lot, because not qualifying for three World Cups in a row is tough, and Italy certainly doesn't deserve that."
"We have to work. The only way forward is to work," adds Donnarumma. "There has now been a change of coach, the return of Mr Mancini - and the objective is to work and try to take Italy back to where it deserves to be."
Lowest ebb for Italian football
This year Italian football has fallen to its lowest ebb. No Italian club made it past the quarter-finals in Europe, with Atalanta the only Serie A side to reach the Champions League last 16.
For the national team the decline has been long. The penalty shoot-out win over France at the 2006 World Cup remains Italy’s last appearance in a World Cup knockout game. Since then they have won just one World Cup match – the 2-1 victory over England in Brazil 2014 – despite reaching the Euro 2012 final.
The article traces the fall from a 2006 World Cup-winning side featuring Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Del Piero, and the 2012 generation that still relied on Gianluigi Buffon, Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo, to the retirement of Giorgio Chiellini and Leandro Bonucci and a lost generation that followed.
According to the CIES Football Observatory, between 2020 and 2025 Italy produced just 413 football exports, ranking 24th in the world behind the United States, Japan and Russia. The other four nations in Europe’s big five leagues all managed over 1,000 players in the same period. Serie A also gave just 1.9 per cent of its minutes in 2025 to eligible players under 21, the second-lowest of the world’s top 50 leagues.
Veteran imports such as Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric and Jamie Vardy have featured among high-profile Serie A signings, while managerial churn has seen Antonio Conte, Max Allegri, Gennaro Gattuso, Luciano Spalletti and Maurizio Sarri passed around top clubs. Cesc Fabregas’ Como and Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan are cited as signs of fresh tactical ideas.
Youth-inspired revolution under Mancini
Mancini’s first Italy squad back points to a reset. A 34-player roster included nine uncapped players and 11 players under 23.
New names highlighted include Borussia Dortmund’s 18-year-old striker Samuele Inacio, Chelsea-bound defender Honest Ahanor now at Crystal Palace, Brentford’s Michael Kayode, Inter forward Pio Esposito – who has five goals in nine Italy caps – FC Nurnberg’s Ali Zoma with 20 goals in 36 appearances in the German second division, and midfielder Issa Doumbia, a key player at Sporting CP this season.
"There will certainly be some established players. We're getting older, but we're still young, and there will also be some very young players joining the team," says Donnarumma. "So it will be a mixture, and we need to help these young players integrate well. They can give us a great deal of help."
"They're certainly talented players who need to play and gain experience, but I'm sure Italy will return to where it belongs."
Italy face a tricky Nations League Group A with Belgium, Turkey and France. After years in the dark, the nation needs a spark, and Mancini’s return is intended to provide the work ethic and blend of experience and youth to bring Italy back to the top table.