‘The pain is too great!’ – Gianluigi Donnarumma reveals Italy players refuse to discuss World Cup heartbreak as Roberto Mancini era begins

The Italian national team is still reeling from the devastating heartbreak of missing out on the 2026 World Cup following a painful penalty shoot-out defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final - a match where the Azzurri played with ten men for the majority of the contest after Alessandro Bastoni's early red card. This historic setback marks Italy's third consecutive absence from football's marquee tournament, an unthinkable reality for a nation that boasts four World Cup titles, with their most recent triumph coming in 2006.

When asked during an interview with Sky Sport Italia whether the players who featured in that fateful World Cup play-off had sat down to discuss what went so wrong, the Manchester City goalkeeper admitted the topic remains off-limits. ‘The truth is that there was zero discussion between us, other than today for a minute, because honestly the pain is still too great to reopen that wound. The important thing is to look forward, to build a great Nazionale, and coach Mancini will give us a big hand with that,’ Donnarumma explained.

Following the departures of Luciano Spalletti - who guided Italy to the last 16 at Euro 2024 - and Gennaro Gattuso, whose tenure ended after failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, Italy have turned back to Mancini to reignite the national team. Mancini previously led La Nazionale to Euro 2020 glory before missing out on the 2022 World Cup. Now back at the helm, he aims to rebuild a competitive side, starting with Friday's Nations League clash against Belgium in a challenging Group A1 that also features France and Vincenzo Montella's Turkiye.

‘We definitely believe in his football, we want to be proactive, positive, aggressive, to control the game. We will be facing strong opponents in the Nations League, but we want to take charge and dominate the game. We learned from the Euros and want to get fans in love with the Azzurri again,’ Donnarumma stated.

While the senior figures manage their grief, a new crop of talent is being integrated into the setup to provide a much-needed spark. Among those catching the eye is Cagliari midfielder Alessandro Romano, who is expected to earn a starting role in the upcoming fixture. Donnarumma has been encouraged by the quality of the new arrivals and sees them as the cornerstone of Italy's eventual resurgence on the global stage.

‘I’ve been impressed with everyone, they are all strong players. Alessandro Romano really impressed me, but there’s a lot of quality in the youngsters and I am sure they’ll be the future of the Nazionale. We in the old guard must help them to settle and get them through difficult moments,’ the captain noted.

The journey toward redemption begins in Rome, where the Azzurri face a talented Belgium side in a competition they are yet to win, having previously finished third in both the 2020-21 and 2022-23 editions. Donnarumma did not hide the fact that the summer months were some of the most difficult of his professional career, but he maintains that the squad is hungry to prove their worth.

‘It’s been very tough. I struggle to even explain it, this has been a very long and difficult summer, but we must start again. We are hungry, it’s a new era, tomorrow we have a big game and the fans like us are disappointed, so it’s up to us to fire them up and get them to fall back in love with the Azzurri jersey,’ Donnarumma concluded.