Goals from Nicolo Barella and Moise Kean led to satisfaction for Italy manager Roberto Mancini and his Azzurri. They secured a 2-0 victory over Finland at the Friuli stadium in the opening match of the EURO 2020 qualifiers. To assist the second goal was Lazio's Ciro Immobile who was then spoken to by Mancini and his staff. "What did we say to Ciro after Kean's goal? He must stay calm; he is a striker and looks to score goals. Sooner or later they arrive. It wasn't easy for him today, he had 7 players around him all match. Overall, however, he played great," stated Mancini to RaiSport's microphones.
"This was not an easy match because they immediately closed us down and changed the way they play by using 5 defenders. We were contracted at the beginning, but there was a desire to score goals today... In the second half, it went better."
"Kean predestined? He has quality, but he must improve a lot and has a huge margin for potential; it all depends on him. Zaniolo? He came in at the end a little too excited. We have guys who have quality - we have just met again after 5 months away from each other. We must continue to work hard and humbly, knowing that all the matches are difficult".
