Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row.
Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina wants Roberto Mancini to continue as manager of the national team.
Four years after failing to reach the 2018 World Cup, Italy failed to qualify again. The European champions fell to a 1-0 defeat against North Macedonia on Tuesday, following Aleksandar Trajkovski’s injury-time winner.
Mancini later sparked doubt over his future in Palermo by refusing to discuss it. The Azzurri manager described the defeat as his ‘biggest personal disappointment’, adding the setback was ‘too great’ for him to discuss his position.
🎙️ #Mancini: "The victory in the Euros was the most wonderful moment of my career. What happened this evening is my biggest disappointment."#ITAMKD #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro #WCQ pic.twitter.com/YIMfp3Uq0C
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) March 24, 2022
‘Mancini has a commitment with us’
But while Gravina feels Italy must make changes to move forward, a change in coach is not one of them.
“I hope Mancini will immediately dispose of the bitterness we all have and continue because he has a commitment with us,” he said as per ESPN.
“When you are part of the world of sport, you need to accept these verdicts. The joy of the European Championship remains but now this unexpected bitterness has arrived, perhaps an undeserved result but this is football.
“There is a project, and we will react. We must go ahead with our heads held high, protect our affection for our national team. Some mistakes have been made and we need to understand their nature.”
Italy return to action on Tuesday for a friendly against fellow playoff dropouts Turkey in Konya.
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