MANCINI: OUR BEST IS YET TO COME
ITALY BOSS WARNING TO RIVALS:
ROBERTO MANCINI insists there is more to come from Italy after they achieved his pre-tournament target.
The last four is where the Azzurri boss predicted his troops would reach before a ball was kicked at the Euros – and Friday’s gripping 2-1 victory over Belgium ticked that box.
But former Manchester City chief Mancini, 56, has recalibrated those ambitions by declaring his class of 2021 are ready to conquer Europe.
Mancini, whose Italians are on a sensational 13-match winning streak, said: “We are in the semi-finals against another very difficult team, in Spain.
“But the team have progressed game in, game out.
“Even when we’ve had some difficult moments in matches, we always get better. And we can still get better. That’s what I’m seeing in my squad.
“They have the desire to play well and always aim to bounce back from their disappointment of not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
“These are the ingredients that have got us this far, but we can still be even better.” That is an ominous warning to those nations still in the hunt to lift the trophy this time next week – given Italy’s ability to score goals galore and keep things so tight at the back.
During their current successful sequence, which stretches back to November, they have rattled in 36 goals and conceded just two.
However, amid all the euphoria of booking a date at Wembley on Tuesday against two-time champions Spain, there was some wretched news inside the Italian camp. Leonardo Spinazzola (below), so influential rampaging on the overlap and defending faultlessly, was carried off in agony after 80 minutes against Belgium with a suspected torn Achilles tendon. Mancini paid tribute to the impact of his Roma left-back, saying: “While we’re very pleased with our performance, we have to say how very disappointed we are for Leonardo.
“We are absolutely gutted for him. He had become one of the stars of these Euros. The injury does not look good.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Italy striker Lorenzo Insigne, who, with Nicolo Barella, was on target to send Roberto Martinez’s Belgium outfit packing in Munich.
The Napoli star, with two goals at the Euros, said: “We are very sad for Leonardo – and we now want to go all the way for him.”