Mancini: ‘I hope Vergara can be Italy winger for many years’

Roberto Mancini at the Italy training session in September 2026 (figc.it)

Roberto Mancini warns Turkiye are ‘full of talented players’ and hints Antonio Vergara will get his first Italy start this evening. ‘I hope he can be our right-sided winger for many years.’

It kicks off at the Stadio Dall’Ara in Bologna at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.

The Azzurri are building confidence and momentum after the dire 2-0 home defeat to Belgium, emerging from Bursa with a 4-1 victory and then holding Zinedine Zidane’s France 1-1 in Paris.

Now they conclude this run of games by hosting Vincenzo Montella’s decimated Turkiye, who are missing Juventus star Kenan Yildiz, Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, plus suspended Baris Alper Yilmaz and Real Madrid talent Arda Guler.

It is the fourth match in 11 days, so massive squad rotation is expected in this new FIFA international calendar.

Mancini faith in Italy future

“It seems pretty exhausting, especially for the players,” Mancini told RAI Sport of this revamped fixture list.

“The mistake we could make is to think this is an easy game, because it certainly isn’t, the Turkiye team is full of talented players.”

Italy are expected to make nine changes from the side that played in France, keeping only Alessandro Bastoni, who scored in each of his last two games.

Napoli’s Vergara and Sporting CP signing Issa Doumbia could get their first starts at senior level, while veterans like Nicolò Barella and Giovanni Di Lorenzo return.

“I hope Vergara can be our right-sided winger for many years to come, because he has the quality to do it.”

The Italy squad is increasingly full of players who aren’t in Serie A, as they go to the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

“Our players sometimes struggle to get playing time here, strangely they get more opportunities abroad. Playing regularly helps them to grow, and doing it abroad might actually help them grow more quickly.”

Tomorrow the CONI will decide on whether to place the FIGC under a special commissioner, removing President Giovanni Malagò because he did not have the Federation membership when he won the landslide election in June.

“We hope that things can be resolved. I am sure that there will be stability,” concluded Mancini, who was appointed by Malagò.