Roberto Mancini keen to blood Italy’s young stars against Bosnia and Armenia

Roberto Mancini will use the final two matches of Italys Euro 2020 qualifying campaign to run the rule over a trio of promising youngsters.With the Azzurri already through to next summers finals with an unblemished record which has seen them win all eight Group J matches to date, the pressure is off Mancini and his squad ahead of the games against Bosnia Herzegovina in Zenica on Friday, and Armenia in Palermo on Monday.It has allowed Mancini to bring in Brescia defender Andrea Cistana, Fiorentina midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli and Bologna forward Riccardo Orsolini.#EuropeanQualifiers #Cistana, #Castrovilli and #Orsolini called up to the senior side for the first time: "Being here is a dream come true." https://t.co/elLRi6wBRcThe three youngsters spoke to the press at #Coverciano today#VivoAzzurro #Azzurri pic.twitter.com/40l6TshP5J Italy (@azzurri) November 12, 2019Determined to finish the campaign on a high, speaking in a news conference, Mancini said:We want to win both.The game against Bosnia will be a great test, well be playing in a small and boisterous stadium and theyll give 200 per cent, as they did in the first match.And then theres the game in Palermo. We wont shake up the team, we wont have any real opportunities to see each other from now until March.This is why weve called up the lads who we wanted to see more of (Cistana, Castrovilli and Orsolini). Even though weve already qualified for the European Championship, we need to improve certain playing situations.#Azzurri The side getting to work ahead of the upcoming games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Armenia in #EURO2020 qualification. #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/qALQL6c4KF Italy (@azzurri) November 11, 2019Assessing the merits of the trio of 22-year-olds, Mancini added: Weve been following their progress a lot over the past few months.Orsolini has quality; Cistana has all the important ingredients and is very young, with this also applying to Castrovilli.Theyre doing well, and were looking beyond the European Championship.We need to understand what they can give us, not just now but in the future too. Perhaps well call up others next time.#EuropeanQualifiers #Mancini: "We also want to win the final two games." https://t.co/xZYHq9JU4OThe #Azzurri are back together ahead of their upcoming matches against Bosnia and Armenia #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/qhFUF5sI31 Italy (@azzurri) November 11, 2019During his 18 months in charge, Mancini has shown so far he has not been afraid to experiment with his squad as he has handed debuts to 20 players.Castrovilli recognises the chance he has been given. He said:Its every childs dream, but it isnt the finishing line, its where I have to go from. I need to do this with great enthusiasm, believing in my abilities.As regards the European Championship, I want to give the head coach a selection headache through my club performances.Although Mancini currently has a squad of 27 at his disposal for the two games, he is without a number of key players through injury, including Marco Verratti, Domenico Berardi, Leonardo Spinazzola and Gianluca Mancini.Mancini has confirmed his attacking spearhead will feature Lazios Ciro Immobile in one game, and Torinos Andrea Belotti in the other due to past difficulties in them playing together.Ciro Immobile is in line to play in one of the two final qualifying games (Nigel French/PA)Theyll play one match each, said Mancini. Theyre two similar players who play in the same areas, but everything is possible if you try.Bosnias hopes of automatic qualification are slim, with a place in the play-offs now their best hope, recognised by coach Robert Prosinecki who is already planning for those games.The most important thing is that we play well in these last two matches ahead of the play-offs, said Prosinecki in a news conference.We dont need extra motivation, especially against a team like Italy. That will be a test and we will give our all.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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