Two turnovers by Italy, two goals by Belgium: Roberto Mancini is furious
Two turnovers, two goals conceded. The Italy-Belgium match proved to be a grueling test for the Azzurri, who—just as in the first half—conceded a goal in the second half due to an individual error. The 2-0 goal scored in the 69th minute by Dodi Lukebakio stemmed not only from a powerful play by the forward—who had already punished Milan while playing for Benfica—but also from a lapse by Nicolò Barella in the opponent’s attacking third and his teammates’ failure to drop back. This situation sparked great anger in head coach Roberto Mancini, who had just made a triple substitution (Scalvini, Frattesi, and Maldini for Coppola, Romano, and Pio Esposito) after watching Kean, Mancini, and Pio Esposito miss three clear chances to equalize. Also worth noting was the yellow card shown to Gianluca Mancini for an avoidable arm swing against De Ketelaere.
The second half followed a similar script to the first, when it was Alessandro Romano who lost the ball in midfield after Kevin De Bruyne snatched it from his feet, setting up the through ball for Mika Godts, who put the visitors ahead in the 21st minute. It was a debut to forget for the Cagliari midfielder, whom Roberto Mancini had chosen as the linchpin of the midfield precisely because of the excellent impressions he’d made in the preceding weeks: “I didn’t know much about Romano, but after the first matchday he made a good impression, so we wanted to see him. It wasn’t easy, but we believe he can be very useful for the future of the national team. He reads the game well, plays one-touch football, and will therefore be important going forward. Claudio Ranieri, who coached him at Roma, also played a key role,” the head coach had stated on the eve of the match.
Before Belgium’s opening goal, however, the Azzurri had created dangerous chances through Cambiaghi, Pio Esposito—who hit the post on a play that was ultimately ruled offside—and Kean. After Godts’ goal, however, Belgium was galvanized, and Donnarumma had to make two saves in a single play on shots by De Ketelaere and Raskin, before preserving the clean sheet with a masterful save on a header by Godts himself. It wasn’t until the final moments of the first half that the Italian national team reemerged in the opponent’s box.
The evening at the Olimpico had, moreover, begun in the worst possible way even before kickoff, marking yet another dark chapter for Italian soccer. As the national anthems were being played, part of the crowd in the stands booed “La Brabançonne,” the Belgian national anthem. The rest of the fans tried to drown out the boos with applause, but the damage was already done—and on an international scale. This incident comes at an already delicate time for Italian soccer, fresh off its third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup, and just a few days after the uproar caused by some Juventus ultras’ failure to observe a moment of silence for Sandro Mazzola, which cost the club a 10,000-euro fine from the Sports Judge.
