Italy coach Roberto Mancini said he was not surprised when fans booed after a 2-0 loss to Belgium at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Friday night. He highlighted Italy’s first 25 minutes after halftime as a positive and said the team must build from that spell.
Belgium scored through Mika Godts and Dodi Lukebakio. Attendance was reported at about 40,000, barely half the Olimpico’s capacity.
The World Cup play-off final defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina still weighed on the players, Mancini said, although he urged them to focus on what lies ahead. Italy’s next Nations League test is against Turkey on Monday night.
