Vincenzo Montella survived Turkey’s debacle at the World Cup – Turkey deservedly lost to Australia and Paraguay, while the victory over the United States carried no competitive significance – but he would not survive four straight defeats in the Nations League, of course, if they also lose tonight’s clash with Italy. As fate would have it, together with the competition calendar, Roberto Mancini found himself in a position to make Zinedine Zidane’s competitive debut in front of the home crowd an unpleasant one, which he did, but also to be the final straw for Turkish football fans’ patience with their compatriot Montella. The situation had been completely different the previous week. Italy arrived in Bursa after a chastening defeat to Belgium in Rome, while Turkey, all things considered, had made a good impression despite their defeat to France. Mancini’s team produced bright, modern football in Anatolia, while in Saint-Denis against France they also demonstrated the character that is an essential ingredient in building a great national team.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨🗣️ Roberto Mancini on Italy's national team: "There is too much anxiety around at the moment." "We simply need to work and to develop." Mancini is expected to take Italy to glory again, as they are very much a dormant giant. https://t.co/mitgG2WM6i</p>— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) <a href="https://x.com/TouchlineX/status/2106950003944046871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##And since we have already mentioned character, Mancini, at the beginning of his second spell in charge of the Azzurri, has found great allies in Gianluigi Donnarumma, Nicolo Barella, Sandro Tonali and Alessandro Bastoni — veterans, so to speak, who have shown tremendous attachment to the national shirt and a willingness to sacrifice themselves for it. If this is the norm in other national teams and there is no need to single it out as a separate quality, in the Italian national team it is news whenever a footballer demonstrates such devotion to the national shirt, especially if he belongs to the group of established players who represent big clubs.##LINKED_NEWS_69543##Mancini will shuffle the pack again against Turkey and give opportunities to players who have had less playing time in the previous three matches. This primarily refers to Gianluca Scamacca, who will lead the attack because Moise Kean has picked up a minor injury and has already returned to Como as a precaution. Bastoni, Barella and Donnarumma should also be among the starters, while all the other positions remain up for grabs, beginning with the left wing, where Nicolo Cambiaghi could get the chance to make his Azzurri debut at his home stadium, the Dall’Ara, in front of his own supporters.##LINKED_NEWS_69432##The Azzurri head coach is experienced enough to know very well how many traps and how much treacherous ground matches against “groggy” opponents can contain. That is why Mancini spent the previous two days preparing his players as if the match against Turkey were a do-or-die affair, aware of how depressing it would be to suffer another forced landing after the highs of Bursa and Saint-Denis, just as they did against Belgium around ten days ago.##LINKED_NEWS_69621##In the Turkish camp, everything that could have gone wrong for Montella has gone wrong. In addition to the defeat and injuries to two of Turkey’s three best players (Hakan Çalhanoglu and Kenan Yıldız), Montella will also be without Arda Guler due to suspension. In Turkey, they are not much different from the Italians: one defeat is enough, let alone three in a row, for a coach to be shown the exit door. Gratitude is not particularly common at those latitudes either, especially when foreign coaches are concerned. It means little to Montella that he took Turkey to the World Cup in the United States and guided them to promotion to the Nations League’s elite division. A potential defeat in Bologna would almost certainly mean his dismissal and the appointment of a new Turkey coach for the second half of the Nations League campaign in November.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – DIVISION AMonday21.45: (1.55) France (4.20) Belgium (5.90)21.45: (1.45) Italy (4.50) Turkey (7.00)***odds are subject to change***——————————————————-UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – DIVISION BMonday21.45: (3.00) B&H (3.40) Poland (2.35)21.45: (2.45) N.Ireland (3.15) Georgia (3.05)21.45: (4.60) Romania (3.60) Sweden (1.80)21.45: (2.50) Ukraine (3.30) Hungary (2.85)***odds are subject to change***——————————————————-UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – DIVISION CMonday19.00: (1.80) Cyprus (3.40) Latvia (4.30)21.45: (1.53) Montenegro (3.90) Armenia (5.80)***odds are subject to change***##SOFASCORE_<iframe id="sofa-standings-embed-64387-89945" src="https://widgets.sofascore.com/embed/tournament/64387/season/89945/standings?widgetTitle=UEFA+Nations+League+26%2F27%2C+League+A%2C+Group+1&showCompetitionLogo=true&widgetTheme=light" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important; height:483px!important;max-width:768px!important;"></iframe><div style="font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;text-align:left"> Standings provided by <a target="_blank" href="https://sofascore.com/">Sofascore</a> </div>##
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