"Welcome Back Italy! Even though we are working to improve ourselves, winning was important to keep up our spirits. Great job guys!!".
Roberto Mancini, Italy’s Football Team Manager, tweeted the day after achieving victory against Saudi Arabia.
A winning start for the Football Team Manager on Italy’s bench. The Italian National Football Team scored a 2-1 friendly win over Saudi Arabia in Kybunpark. This victory instills confidence, bodes well for the future and it was an absolute first time for the Azzurri: in St Gallen and against Saudi Arabia. This is just the first step on a long road towards the friendly matches against France and Netherlands, leading to the newborn competition Nations League.
Saudi Arabia, 67th place in FIFA ranking, on June 14 will play the inaugural match of FIFA World Championship against Russia. Mancini’s Italy is starting again from Mario Balotelli, who awarded his first presence in the national team after four years and gave the best answer to the coach that marked his debut 11 years ago. Belotti scored too, preceding Saudi Arabia’s score for the final 2-1.
Among the last eight Italy’s Football Team Manager, only Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte won their debut match.