Coronavirus: Italy can win the Euros in 2021, says Mancini
Stephen Creek
March 15, 2020 21:20 MYT
March 15, 2020 21:20 MYT
Roberto Mancini said Italy can win the European Championship even if the finals are rescheduled for 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
UEFA is set to hold a critical summit on Tuesday, with talks planned on whether or not the finals can be held as scheduled in June and July, and Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina has said he will call for the tournament to be postponed.
Italy has been one of the worst-affected countries by the coronavirus and players across all Serie A clubs are training at home in self-isolation.
The Azzurri's scheduled March friendlies against England and Germany have been cancelled, but head coach Mancini said football is not his top priority at the current time, telling Rai Sport: "I don't know how it will end. But there are more important things than Euro 2020, without a doubt.
#Azzurri The #DFB announces the cancellation of the friendly match between #Germany and #Italy in #Nuremberg https://t.co/nlD8FMmUoT Following the city's ban on events of more than 100 people, the game will no longer go ahead#VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/OIZjRN7n1d — Italy (@azzurri) March 14, 2020
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"If they postpone the tournament, we can win even in a year. The important thing is the health of everyone and that we can all return to the stadium and enjoy ourselves.
"Seeing people die in these last few days is hurting us too much."
Italy won all 10 of their European Championship qualifying matches, which culminated in a 9-1 thrashing of Armenia in November.
Mancini said he has a squad of players in mind for the finals but indicated he is prepared to reassess his plans if the tournament is postponed.
"I had a fairly safe list of players called," he said. "It was ready with only a few doubts to decide at the last minute.
"However, if the tournament is suspended for a year, there will be a few changes.
"We have to wait to Tuesday to understand if UEFA will decide to postpone Euro 2020. The problems we have had in Italy in the last 15 days will now be seen in other countries."