March 25, (THEWILL) – Despite missing out on a place at the World Cup due to their shock defeat to North Macedonia, Italian Football Federation head, Gabriele Gravina, has backed Roberto Mancini to stay on as manager.
As THEWILL reported, Italy was eliminated from the European play-offs after a 1-0 loss on Thursday night. This is the first time Italy has failed to qualify for two tournaments in a row, with two humiliations sandwiched between its highly celebrated Euro 2020 triumph.
Aleksandar Trajkovski scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute for the 67th-ranked national team in the world.
“I hope Mancini continues with us”, Gravina said. “He has a commitment with us for this project, I hope he can shake off this elimination just like all the Italians and that he remains at the helm to continue our work together.”
Gravina was present at Mancini’s post-match press conference, expressing his admiration for the 57-year-old.
He continued: “Just as we accepted the praise last summer, we must accept the criticism coming our way, but I must try to protect this national team. We go forward with heads held high.
“We must not lose the enthusiasm of last summer and we saw that strong bond between the fans and the team again this evening. Criticism is fine, but we don’t want the risk of doing even more damage.”
In the play-off final, North Macedonia will meet the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal after the latter defeated Turkey 3-1.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
