Italy coach Roberto Mancini praised his young team’s reaction in the 3-2 victory over Turkey.
The Azzurri are back on the road to victory five days after the hopes of qualifying for the World Cup were dashed by the sensational defeat against North Macedonia in Palermo.
Mancini made 10 changes to the friendly against semifinal mates who were beaten, Gianluigi Donnarumma was the only survivor among the sticks.
Although the European champions remained behind under Cengiz’s goal, that changed that when Giacomo Raspadori scored just two goals in his third international start, while Brian Cristante also scored for the visitors.
Occasions granted from the beginning also to his young teammates Sandro Tonali, Nicolò Zaniolo and Gianluca Scamacca and Mancini was happy with how he claimed his team so changed.
“It was useless from a competitive point of view. But if you have to do things, you have to do them well, even in negative conditions, ”the coach told RAI Sport.
“The younger guys did a good job and it’s fun. It was nice to see the reaction even when we want to go down 1-0, as it was on fire here.
“The fans made the atmosphere great so we did a good job of staying calm and in control 15 minutes into the game.
“It was the first time that so many had played together, so it wasn’t easy. These are young players, we need time and it hasn’t been easy. I’m glad they did well ”.
“Even though we are unfortunately not where we would like to be, the team’s reaction has been strong. We will be sorry until December “.
Despite their disappointment in the playoffs, Crisenti insisted it was imperative that he and his teammates show strength in the face of adversity.
“It was important to show a strong reaction after that bad start,” he added.
“We had to do a good performance and move on immediately.
We are disappointed, but we know in football that there is no time to feel sorry for yourself.
“We have to start again and we know we are a strong team”.
