Mancini: ‘Enough talking’ as Italy aim to qualify for 2026 World Cup

Italy defender Gianluca Mancini reveals what he thought when he scored his first international goal earlier this week and insists he ‘never’ argued with Luciano Spalletti.

Roma defender Mancini released an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on the eve of a Serie A game against Inter.

The Giallorossi are table leaders alongside Napoli, and Mancini scored his first goal for the Italy national team in a 3-0 win over Israel on Tuesday.

“It was beautiful,” said the Italian defender.

“Every time I sing the anthem with my teammates, I think back to those summers at the bar, signing it arm in arm with my friends while watching the national team. When I scored, I thought about when I used to play with them or at home, wearing the blue shirt. It’s every kid’s dream, even though, in the end, the only thing that mattered was winning.”

Mancini was not a regular in the Azzurri squad under Gennaro Gattuso’s predecessor Spalletti, but the Italian defender reiterated that he’d never argued with the Tuscan tactician.

“Nothing, never an argument. A player can be liked by a coach and less by another,” he said.

“When I’m called up, I run. When I’m at home, I cheer. It bothered me, I wasn’t happy, but I always respected the decision. The coach made other choices.”

Gattuso took charge of the Azzurri squad in June, making his debut in September.

“There was an immediate feeling that you couldn’t afford a single mistake, but also a great desire to be together, calmly,” Mancini said.

“Spalletti, as he himself said, tried to make us understand what he wanted through a lot of concepts, but the group has always been solid.”

Italy will likely need to go through the playoffs to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after being eliminated at the same stage in the previous two editions.

“I don’t even want to think about that outcome. We have time to understand what the coach wants,” Mancini concluded.

“We need to go into it aware that this will be the third playoff in eight years. Enough talking, now it’s time for the pitch to do the talking.”