Barella: ‘Italy have more regret on first Belgium game, must keep tempo up’

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - NOVEMBER 15: Jeremy Doku of Belgium runs with the ball under pressure from Giorgio Scalvini and Nicolo Barella of Italy during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Belgium and Italy at King Baudouin Stadium on November 15, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Nicolò Barella insists Italy feel ‘more regret’ over the first Nations League defeat to Belgium than this 4-1 loss, but they ‘cannot play at a low tempo, or we concede a lot of goals.’

This Nations League campaign has been a real rollercoaster for the Azzurri, who started with a 2-0 home defeat to Belgium on September 25 that made some talk about the possibility of relegation to League B.

By the time they rolled around to Brussels seven weeks later, they were top of the group after a 1-1 draw in Paris and 3-1 victory over France at San Siro.

It is therefore a blow to end it with a 4-1 defeat that knocks them down to third place, especially as Pio Esposito had opened the scoring and later saw a penalty parried, around the goals from Maxim De Cuyper, Nathan Ngoy, Jeremy Doku and Milan winger Diego Moreira.

Barella evaluates Italy games with Belgium

“Belgium were better than us tonight, while we also felt some fatigue from the last game with France,” Barella told RAI Sport.

“We have shown in this Nations League campaign that we are here, and while we certainly need to improve, there are some solid foundations to build on.”

What could explain the difference in performance from Thursday at San Siro to this evening in Brussels?

“We are a team that cannot play at a low tempo, if we do, then we concede a lot of goals. Quite a few of them were scored with ricochets and scrambles, so without taking credit away from Belgium, we also need to be more alert and not allow those situations to develop in the first place.”

There are positives to be seen, because considering how badly Italy lost the first match at the Stadio Olimpico just seven weeks ago, it was a remarkable turnaround to go into the final game as group leaders.

“We honestly have more regrets from the first match in Rome, whereas today Belgium were just better, we have no complaints,” confessed Barella.

“That game was the start of our journey, but since then we’ve shown that we are ready and want to follow the ideas of this coach. The new lads are also bringing fresh energy to the squad.

“The defeat hurts, of course, but it mustn’t make us lose sight of the main focus. We’ve got to get enthusiasm back into the fans, that is the most important thing at this moment.”