Can Roberto Mancini Resurrect Italy?

Roberto Mancini has returned as Italy’s coach with a young 34-player squad after the Azzurri missed the 2026 World Cup. Can he rebuild Italy again?

Roberto Mancini knows exactly what it feels like to make Italy believe again. Now, years after leading the Azzurri to European glory, he has returned to a team that needs another revival. Mancini is beginning his second spell as Italy’s head coach after the national team failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, meaning the Azzurri have now missed three consecutive editions of football’s biggest tournament. His first major assignment is the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League, beginning with Belgium in Rome on September 25.

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Why Was Roberto Mancini Brought Back?

The decision represents an attempt to reconnect Italy with a period in which the national team had rediscovered its identity. Mancini’s first spell began in 2018 after Italy had failed to qualify for that year’s World Cup. Within three years, he had transformed the team into European champions, beating England on penalties in the EURO 2020 final at Wembley.

That period also produced a world-record 37-match unbeaten run between 2018 and 2021. Italy qualified for EURO 2020 with a perfect record and built a team capable of controlling matches through possession, movement, and aggressive pressing. The challenge now is completely different. Mancini is not inheriting a team on the way up. He is trying to rebuild one that has already gone through another difficult cycle.

What Has Roberto Mancini Changed?

The first major clue came with his 34 player squad for the Nations League. Mancini has selected nine players who have never previously appeared for Italy, including Michael Kayode, Eddy Kouadio, Massimo Pessina, Daniele Ghilardi, Issa Doumbia, Alessandro Romano, Sebastiano Esposito, Antonio Vergara, and Mohamed Alì Zoma.

He has also brought back players who had fallen away from the national setup while leaving several familiar names outside the squad. Mateo Retegui, who has been in strong scoring form in Saudi Arabia, was notably omitted. That tells us what Mancini is trying to do. Rather than simply rebuilding the same team that failed to reach the World Cup, he is opening the door to a younger generation and giving himself more options before competitive matches become more important.

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How Difficult Will The New Italy Project Be?

The schedule could hardly be more demanding. Italy begins against Belgium at the Stadio Olimpico on September 25 before travelling to Türkiye three days later. They then face France in Saint Denis on October 2 before hosting Türkiye in Bologna on October 5. Four matches in 11 days will test both Mancini’s squad depth and the speed with which he can establish his ideas.

There is also a psychological challenge. Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup has understandably created frustration among supporters, while the team has gone through significant changes at the federation and coaching level. Mancini, however, has already experienced the other side of this situation. He took charge after the disappointment of 2018 and turned Italy into European champions.

This time there is no guarantee that history will repeat itself. The squad is different, the competition is different, and Italy is starting from a very different position. But Mancini’s first task is clear: give the Azzurri an identity again, provide opportunities to players who can become the next core of the team, and restore belief before the next World Cup qualification campaign arrives. Can Roberto Mancini rebuild Italy into the team that conquered Europe in 2021?

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