Italian national team coach Roberto Mancini on Wednesday jokingly advised his French counterpart Zinedine Zidane to rest Kylian Mbappe, amid doubts surrounding the participation of the Spanish Real Madrid star in Thursday's match scheduled in Milan in the European Nations League.
The Italian coach said in a press conference: “I advise him not to take any risks in Thursday’s match.” It is better for Mbappe not to participate until he recovers well in preparation for the Champions League. But France has such a huge number of talented strikers, it is difficult to say whether it would be better to include Mbappé or another player or rely on a different combination. “They already have five or six strikers, and they are all excellent.”
Mancini, who seemed to be in a cheerful mood, added: “If (Michael) Oliseh has a cold tonight, that’s okay.”
But he returned to seriousness, saying: “It is also wonderful to play matches against strong teams and players with such talent, and I think this is the beauty of football.”
Mbappe, captain of the French national team and its all-time top scorer (67 in 107 matches), remained under medical care on Wednesday, the eve of the match in Italy, while his participation remains uncertain.
The technical staff of the “Blue” team summoned Paris Saint-Germain player Ceni Maiolo to reinforce the group in anticipation of any emergency.
After achieving three victories and one draw in four matches, the French team leads Group A in the European Nations League, and appears in a good position to secure a place in the quarter-finals before the final two rounds against Italy on Thursday in Milan and Turkey on Sunday in Bordeaux.
Mancini admitted that very few expected Italy to compete with France for the top spot in its group, expressing his hope to “give the fans something to celebrate” and end the complex that haunts the national team at San Siro Stadium.
Italy currently ranks second with seven points, behind France, which leads with ten points, while Belgium comes in third with six points.
In the last round, Italy will meet its host Belgium, while France will face Türkiye, the last.
Mancini said: “We certainly seek to confirm and improve the performance we presented in previous matches. “With seven points with two matches remaining, qualification is still possible for us.”
He added: “The situation seems to be positive.” "Given the way things started, it's a bit unexpected."
Mancini's return to coaching the national team began with a disastrous home loss to Belgium 0-2, which raised fears of relegation to the second level of the continental competition, but the national team is now on the verge of reaching the quarter-finals.
The Italian coach said: “We played a good match in France, including the periods when we had to defend, because they are a big team. There are some aspects that we can improve and we hope to do that tomorrow in order to win the match.”
The 1-1 draw in Paris gave the Italian team a huge boost of confidence.
Mancini continued: “Zidane won almost every match, knows his players well, and also achieved many successes as a coach with Real Madrid, and I believe that he will have a great coaching career at the national team level.”
San Siro does not have many positive memories for the Italian team, which lost its last three matches at this stadium.
But Mancini said: “I won the last match I played here, and it was not easy at all either, and it was against England.”
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente expressed his optimism on Wednesday about the possibility of Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal participating against England on Sunday in the European Nations League.
The 19-year-old winger will miss the World Champions League match in Prague against the Czech Republic, on Thursday, in the penultimate fifth round of Group C of the first level of the European Nations League, due to a knee problem, but he will join the national team after this match.
Yamal participated with Barcelona in the 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday in the Spanish League, before the Spanish national team announced on Monday that it would not travel to face the Czech Republic in a marginal match for the world champions who had clinched their qualification to the quarter-finals before the last two rounds.
De La Fuente said: “He was injured in the last match, and felt discomfort in one of his knees. He underwent the usual treatment and X-ray examination in Barcelona, and the examination showed the presence of inflammation and fluid accumulation in the knee, which required him to rest.”
He added: “There is an excellent relationship between our medical team and his medical team, and I decided to avoid having him travel here without knowing whether he will be in a position that allows him to play.”
The coach explained that he spoke with the young winger, and that his recovery indicators appear positive before receiving England in Madrid on Sunday.
De la Fuente continued: “He is undergoing a series of exercises with the physiotherapist and with the club, and all indications indicate that his recovery is going well.”
He added: “We believe, and I am optimistic, that he will be with us on Friday.”
De la Fuente rejected the idea that Yamal, who came third in voting for the Ballon d'Or in October, enjoyed any special privileges compared to his colleagues in the Spanish national team.
He said: “He does not enjoy any privileges, and his colleagues deal with the matter calmly because we treat everyone the same way,” adding: “In similar circumstances, we would have made exactly the same decision with any other player, and the players realize that.”
De La Fuente's team has not suffered any losses in the last 43 official matches, which gives “La Roja” additional motivation, according to the coach, who stressed: “We want to continue achieving new numbers and milestones, and this is one of them.”
He added: “None of us probably thought that we would even reach 35 games, because we saw this number as huge, but after reaching 43, you say to yourself: Oh my God, we want to reach 44 of course.”
In the last round, Spain won away to Croatia thanks to a brace scored by Arsenal's English player Michael Merino.
De La Fuente often relies on the midfielder as an influential substitute card, as Merino scored decisive goals against Portugal and Belgium in the World Cup this summer after coming on from the bench.
Merino confirmed that he would like to participate as a starter with the Spanish national team, but that he would not object to the coach’s decisions, saying: “Of course, any player wants to get more minutes. "You will never hear me complain about the coach's decision. I will respect it."
He continued: “But all players want to be influential, get playing minutes, and enjoy their presence on the field.”
