Italy Begin Mancini Era Against Belgium in Nations League Opener

Italy and Belgium will begin new chapters under new management when they meet at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday night in their opening UEFA Nations League fixture.

Contents

Team News
Possible Lineups
How to Watch
Match Prediction

The two sides are both entering the 2026-27 campaign with new coaches and will be eager to make a strong start in a demanding League A Group 1, which also contains France and Turkey.

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Italy are attempting to rebuild after another painful failure to qualify for the World Cup. The Azzurri finished behind Norway in qualifying before beating Northern Ireland in the playoffs, only to suffer a dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The result means Italy have now missed three consecutive World Cups, despite winning Euro 2020. Roberto Mancini has subsequently returned to the national team, three years after leaving his position to take charge of Saudi Arabia.

Mancini succeeds Gennaro Gattuso and has already signalled his intention to introduce younger players, with several fresh faces included in his 34-man squad.

Belgium, meanwhile, are also beginning a new era following Rudi Garcia’s departure. Garcia guided the Red Devils to the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals, where they narrowly lost to eventual champions Spain.

Mark van Bommel has now taken over and faces an extremely demanding opening schedule. Belgium must visit Italy before playing France twice, either side of a home fixture against Turkey.

The Red Devils have historically struggled to make a deep run in the Nations League, reaching the finals only once and finishing fourth in 2021. They have, however, retained significant experience, with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku remaining key figures.

Italy have won four of the last five meetings between the teams, while Belgium’s most recent defeat to Spain ended an impressive 18-match unbeaten run.

Team News

Italy will be captained by Gianluigi Donnarumma, who has already reached 83 international appearances despite being only 27.

Mancini’s first squad of his second spell contains a number of new faces, but the Azzurri will be without Alessandro Bastoni through suspension. Federico Dimarco, Bryan Cristante and Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli are also unavailable because of injuries.

Mateo Retegui has not been selected, leaving Moise Kean, Gianluca Scamacca, Sebastiano Esposito and Pio Esposito competing for attacking positions.

Pio Esposito could receive the nod after making an impressive start to his international career. Since making his debut during 2026 World Cup qualifying, the young striker has scored five goals in nine appearances and has also been producing strong performances for Inter Milan.

Mancini is expected to use a 4-3-3 formation.

Among the new faces, Alessandro Romano has chosen to represent Italy despite interest from Switzerland, while Michael Kayode has impressed since moving to Brentford. Mohamed Ali Zoma has also received an opportunity after earning recognition at Nurnberg.

Belgium have also selected several promising young players. Paris Saint-Germain winger Mika Godts, Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, and Premier League newcomers Malick Fofana and Matias Fernandez-Pardo could all be involved.

Youri Tielemans is expected to captain the visitors following the international retirement of Axel Witsel.

Youri Tielemans. (photo credit: facebook media)

Belgium are also without several experienced options. Thibaut Courtois is taking a break from international duty, while Mats Selz has stepped away. Their absence leaves Senne Lammens, Mike Penders, Maarten Vandevoordt and Jari De Busser competing for the goalkeeper position.

Andre Onana remains unavailable because of the long-term injury he suffered at the World Cup. Leandro Trossard is also sidelined, while Jeremy Doku has not been selected after only recently returning to action.