Italy will return to the pitch to play a friendly and a Nations League match against Poland, and their manager Roberto Mancini addressed the major topics from the azzurri camp at a press conference: "Critics? Fortunately I don't read the papers often, they always write the same things about the national team. The road we have taken is not simple and we need to look at reality: we played against the European champions. Our objective remains to reach the European Championship and I am sure with our work we will succeed. Is the Nations League important? It is definitely better than friendlies, but our objective is to qualify for the Euros. Certainly, when there are three points on the line you play harder. If we were to win the group, we will be very happy."
"D'Ambrosio, Romagnoli and Cutrone sent home? They are returning home because of various physical issues. In their place I have called Tonelli from Sampdoria and Piccini from Valencia. Insigne? He is a player in great form, he can guarantee quality in different positions on the field, he started as a left winger and is becoming accustomed to being a second striker. Changes are never a problem for really good players."
"Balotelli and Belotti excluded? They are not going through a great moment in form, therefore the decision is totally a technical one. However, they are 100% part of this group and in these two years will have the possibility to put themselves on display. Giovinco called up after three years? He is 31 years old and has been doing very well in different seasons. For this reason I am curious to see him live, to see how he is effectively."
