France–Italy, Mancini: A great match against an excellent team

“It will be a great match against an excellent team; we want to leave a good impression. We will try. Even against such a strong team, you never play not to win.” That is what Italy coach Roberto Mancini said on the eve of their third Nations League match against France at the Stade de France.

“I don’t have many doubts about the line-up; we will assess it in the final training session. We will make fewer changes than in Bursa, but we will make some changes. Pio or Kean? Scamacca is also in. Tonali as a playmaker? It could be.”

“We are assessing Kean because he has some physical problems,” Mancini told Sportmediaset correspondent Monica Vanali. “Tomorrow morning we will assess him and the others who played in Bursa to see how they are doing. Zidane? He spent three years at Real Madrid, won the Champions League three times, then waited for the national team. He is a coach with enough experience to lead them. Why is France–Italy always such a special match? Both we and they want to win, and that will be the case tomorrow evening too. I hope it will be a good match.”