Mancini blames Italy's passivity against Belgium
After Italy's 0‑2 defeat to Belgium, the Italian manager Roberto Mancini criticised his players' performance, denouncing the spaces given to the Red Devils and the passivity of his defenders, while Belgian supporters celebrated a dominant evening.
The Italian manager also responded to the whistles from the crowd in the stadium. He said he understood the disappointment of Italian supporters, even though he does not wish to dwell on the defeat. This reaction followed the 0‑2 loss to Belgium.
First half: too many spaces
Roberto Mancini did not appreciate his players' first half, who struggled to contain the Belgians during the first 45 minutes. He lamented the spaces given to the Red Devils and the lack of aggressiveness of his team. “We played against a very good team. We left too many spaces, especially in the first half. That was not enough. We should have been more aggressive and put more pressure on Belgium,” he said.
Mika Godts took advantage of this freedom to open the scoring in the 20th minute, thanks to a beautiful assist from Kevin De Bruyne. The goal confirmed Belgian domination from the start of the match. The Red Devils continued to create chances.
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Second half: slight improvements
After the break, Italy responded by forcing Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens to make big saves. Mancini acknowledged having seen improvements in the second half, noting that his team had conceded fewer chances. “I saw improvements in the second half. We conceded fewer chances. Not everything was to be discarded, that’s what we must take away,” he affirmed.
In the 69th minute, Dodi Lukebakio doubled the score while Italy were looking to equalise. Mancini criticised his defenders' reaction, reminding that the second goal must never fall and that his team defended too passively. “The second goal must never fall. We defend too passively,” a‑t‑l highlighted.
At the end of the match, part of the Italian crowd whistled at their team. “We must not think too much about the past. That makes absolutely no sense. The supporters whistling at us? Of course I understand them. They are disappointed, and so am I. We hope to do better in the next games,” said Roberto Mancini.
Nations League Italy-Belgium: whistles at the Belgian anthem, applause for the Italian anthem
This difficult evening shows that the Italians must be more aggressive and put more pressure on Belgium to avoid giving too many spaces to their opponents.