Mancini: ‘Italy start with a slight advantage against Belgium, but we can’t settle’

BURSA, TURKEY - SEPTEMBER 28: Roberto Mancini, Head Coach of Italy, looks on before the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Türkiye and Italy at Atatürk Spor Kompleksi Matli Stadyumu on September 28, 2026 in Bursa, Turkey. (Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)

Roberto Mancini insists Italy can’t settle for a draw against Belgium, even though one point would be enough to reach the Nations League quarter-finals.

With quotes via the Corriere dello Sport, Mancini warned at his pre-match press conference that Sunday’s decider at the King Baudouin Stadium will be a dangerous game. Belgium have already beaten Italy once in this group, 2-0 in Rome in September, with goals from Mika Godts and Romelu Lukaku.

“Dangerous game? Certainly, because it’s the last one,” Mancini said. “We start with a slight advantage, but that doesn’t mean we should be satisfied. It’ll be a great game against a team that only went out of the World Cup to Spain in the last minute.”

Spain knocked Belgium out in the quarter-finals in July with Mikel Merino’s 88th-minute winner.

Mancini on Dimarco and Italy’s line-up

Mancini doesn’t plan to make many changes from the side that beat France 3-1 on Thursday, despite the short turnaround.

“Tomorrow we’ll assess the others who have put in a lot of effort, but I don’t think we’ll make many changes,” he said. “We need to work out who will need to rest.”

He was also asked about using Federico Dimarco as a wide forward.

“It’s an option we’d been thinking about for some time, but these things have to be assessed game by game. We’ll take all the time we need to decide. Things have to be judged according to the match, and during it too.”

FIGC commissioner Giovanni Malagò was in the room, and Mancini was asked whether the federation’s ongoing election saga could affect the team.

“We care about everything, of course. We’re here to win and try to qualify. That’s our objective tomorrow night.”