Italy will host Poland on Friday night as the two teams get their first ever UEFA Nations League campaigns up and running. Both teams feature in League A Group 3 of the Nations League. Portugal are the third team in the group and Cristiano Ronaldo’s team will face off against Italy on September 10.
Roberto Mancini has been tasked with leading the Azzurri back to their former prominence. Mancini took over the national team in May and the UEFA Nations League will be his first competitive tournament in charge.
Italy’s friendly results have been mixed under the former Manchester City manager. Mancini’s team has posted a 1-1-1 record from three games. The team’s lone win came in a 3-2 match against Saudi Arabia pre-World Cup. A 3-1 loss to France followed, but Italy capped off their pre-World Cup friendlies with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands.
Poland did qualify for the World Cup. However, one win from three games was seen as very poor. Poland had been earmarked to progress from what was labeled a weak group.
Their stars did not perform to the standards most expected and the team crashed out. Robert Lewandowski was perhaps the most disappointing of the team’s players as he scored zero goals at the event. Now, newly appointed manager Jerzy Brzeczek will try to get the Polish back to winning ways.
Brzeczek’s first task is to get his team to defend. Poland allowed five goals in three matches at the World Cup. The team posted a –3-goal difference at the tournament. At times, Poland’s defending was woeful which seemed uncharacteristic of their top defenders Kamil Glik and Jan Bednarek.
Not only was defending a weak area, but Poland’s experienced players made mistakes throughout the tournament. Brzeczek needs his top stars to get their heads down and play much smarter.
Making Poland’s job more difficult is the fact that Italy haven’t lost at home in two years. The game will take place in Bologna and a strong, passionate Italian fanbase will be on hand.
Mancini wants to begin a new era of Italian football. In recent interviews he has stated he wants Italians to fall in love with football once more. In addition, he has implored Serie A teams to play more homegrown Italian players. Mancini has drafted in two fresh bodies to the side for the fixture in Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi and Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno.
Mancini has also recalled Mario Balotelli, who scored against Saudi Arabia earlier this year. The manager has long had a love-hate relationship with the striker.
Both nations are in football transition and both have new managers. Italy is further along in their transition, and due to Mancini already having matches under his belt, they will win on Friday night.