Italy is often inhabited by veteran players who have tasted the salt acid in the world of football. But not this time, where Gli Azzurri is now inhabited by many young players.
In 2006, Italy won the World Cup after defeating France in the final round. For the record, they are the only country with an average age of more than 28 years old players who are able to win the competition. Now it's a lot different. Now their squad has a lower average age of players, which is 26.5 years. Some of them are still 20 to 23 years old. Italy does need regeneration. That was Roberto Mancini's mission after being appointed as coach of the Gli Azzurri in 2018, just a few months after it was confirmed that Italy could not participate in the World Cup. Italy was shaky in the early days of Mancini's leadership. However, he proved that patience always pays off. Now Italy is one of the four teams that will compete in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League. The success of Italy cannot be separated from young people like Manuel Locatelli, Alessandro Bastoni to Gianluigi Donnarumma. Mancini, who was absent because of Covid-19, paid tribute to them. "I think we have some very talented young players. We just need to give them a chance to play," Mancini told RAI Sport via a long distance connection. "There was a bit of difficulty at the start, but if they have the talent, their abilities will show up in six or seven months. The Italian youth team is important to us, and has helped the players to move up the level," he continued.
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