Mancini expected Italy’s cohesion to suffer after Turkey win

Roberto Mancini said Italy’s 3-1 victory over Turkey was always likely to be affected by a loss of cohesion after he made nine changes to the starting line-up.

Italy manager Mancini made the changes from the side that faced France, and admitted his team struggled early on before recovering their balance and securing victory in Bologna.

“There was, of course, some fatigue despite the changes,” Mancini told reporters after the match. “We struggled at the beginning, but the players delivered a good performance and managed to regain control of the game.

“Then they scored again after the equaliser, so it was a good match considering it was our fourth game in an extremely short period.”

Mancini said the disruption caused by the changes was expected, while also explaining why two players were substituted.

“The only certainty was that we would lose some cohesion, and that was entirely expected,” he said. “We also had two players carrying yellow cards, and it seemed the referee was inclined to book them again, so I decided to replace them.”

Italy began the match with nine changes from the team that played France, which naturally affected their performance against Turkey.

Asked about Cagliari midfielder Alessandro Romano, Mancini said: “Romano can perform this role easily. He needs to play in matches like these so that he can continue to develop.”

Mancini added: “We have to continue in this way, and perhaps we will have to play a match to determine our position in Belgium.”

Italy have now completed a run of four Nations League matches in 11 days. Their sequence began with a 2-0 defeat by Belgium, followed by a 4-1 victory over Turkey in Bursa, a 1-1 draw with France and the latest 3-1 win against Turkey in Bologna.

The result leaves Italy second in Group A on seven points, behind leaders France, who have 10. Belgium are third with six points.

Italy will play their final two group matches in November. They host France on 12 November before travelling to face Belgium on 15 November.