We are lacking great forwards: Italy's manager Roberto Mancini after being knocked out in semi-final

Italy`s coach Roberto Mancini (L) reacts and gestures during the UEFA Nations League semi final football match between Spain and Italy at the De Grolsch Veste Stadium in Enschede. Pic/AFP

Italy's hopes failed as they were looking to add more silverware to their cabinet. Italy was defeated 2-1 by Spain in the semi-final match of the UEFA Nations League on Friday. Following the defeat Italy's manager Roberto Mancini said, we are lacking great forwards, according to the official website of UEFA.

After winning the Euro 2020 title, Italy's downfall has been immense. Firstly, Italy failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022 after a 1-0 defeat to North Macedonia in the qualifiers for the World Cup.

In the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League Italy crashed out in the semi-finals of the competition.

After the defeat, in the post-match presentation, Italy's coach Roberto Mancini said, "At this moment, we have a number of great midfielders and defenders, but we are lacking great forwards. I hope that in the future, players from the youth teams can step up," according to the official website of UEFA.

He further added, "We played with a 3-5-2 in the first half and it went well, as we expected," Mancini added. "We did fade [in the second half] but we had issues in terms of winning the ball back. We were constantly under pressure in the second half, and had we reverted to our typical 4-3-3, it may have been different."

Roberto Mancini further expressed his views as he said, "We could have gone back to a back four [in the second half] after Bonucci came off, knowing we'd have given them a bit more possession. We could have tried a higher block and been a bit more attacking in the second half. We dropped off a bit too much."

While concluding he said, "We began to freshen the squad up during the league phase. We have some good kids and Frattesi played well. But that did not cause this defeat."

The final of the UEFA Nations League will be played on Monday between Croatia and Spain.

Also Read: Spain advance to Nations League final with 2-1 victory over Italy, will face Croatia next

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