Mancini hopes Tresoldi picks Italy as Azzurri prepare for France and Belgium

Mancini hopeful about Tresoldi

Italy coach Roberto Mancini said on Monday, 9 November, at the Azzurri training camp at Coverciano near Florence, that he hopes Club Brugge forward Nicolò Tresoldi will choose to play for Italy. The 22-year-old was born in Sardinia and moved to Germany with his family as a teenager. His father, Emanuele Tresoldi, was a professional footballer, and his mother is Argentinian, which gives the player three national teams to choose from. Mancini said he had spoken with the player, as had Claudio Ranieri, the Italian Football Federation's technical director. The coach said the decision belonged to Tresoldi, but argued that Italy had a real chance because both the player and his father were born there.

Mancini was asked about the decision and gave this answer:

“I have spoken with Tresoldi and Claudio Ranieri has spoken with him too, I hope he makes the right choice.”

Mancini added that Tresoldi must feel the wish to play for Italy himself, and he argued the player could become an important asset for the national team.

Tresoldi's career and timetable

Tresoldi has scored 16 goals in 27 appearances for Germany's Under-21 team, and he scored three goals in the 4-1 win over Malta in late September. In October he scored a hat-trick in Brugge's 4-3 victory over Inter at San Siro in the Champions League. Mancini noted that the player's father had played for Italy's youth sides and won the Under-21 European Championship. Tresoldi told Sky Sports Italia in October, as reported by 7sur7, that he would make his decision after the Under-21 European Championship in June. At that time he said he was enjoying his time with Germany's Under-21 side, where a European title remained a goal. None of the reports says he has yet chosen a nation.

Youth selection after Zenica

Mancini said the situation had not changed much since the defeat in Zenica. Some teams give young players minutes and others do not, so the national team has to look for young talent, call it up and get to know the players directly. Mancini put it this way:

“Someone plays them and someone else does not, so we have an obligation to look for young players with technical qualities.”

He also contrasted the present with the past, when clubs such as Milan, Juventus and Inter gave the national team a block of players, which made the coach's job easier. La Stampa reported that this squad is the youngest of Mancini's tenure, with an average age of 24 years and 172 days across his 65 matches in charge. Two of the youngest call-ups, aged 17 and 18, are expected to join the Under-18 and Under-19 squads instead.

Nations League fixtures

Italy sit second in their Nations League group, with seven points after four matches. They host France at San Siro in Milan on Thursday, 12 November, and play Belgium in Brussels on Sunday, 15 November.

Mancini also spoke about Chiesa, whom he said he had spoken with several times, including recently, according to Il Messaggero. The player is not currently playing and needs to regain his condition, but at 29 Mancini believes he will return to the squad soon. None of the reports says Tresoldi has made a decision yet.