Italy’s struggle to regain form continued on Friday, as the four-time world champions suffered a 2-0 home defeat against Belgium in their Nations League opener. Playing at Rome’s 70,000-seat Stadio Olimpico, the squad was met with a lukewarm reception, with only 47,155 spectators in attendance. The match served as Italy’s first outing since their disappointing playoff exit against Bosnia and Herzegovina last March, marking a challenging start to their latest World Cup rebuilding phase. Four-time champion Italy is still struggling, six months on from failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
Roberto Mancini, back in charge of the Azzurri after his high-profile exit in August 2023 to manage the Saudi Arabian national team, appeared visibly frustrated on the touchline throughout the evening. Despite fielding a starting lineup featuring eight regulars from their recent World Cup qualification campaign, Italy struggled to contain Belgium’s clinical counterattacks.
The visitors took the lead just 20 minutes into the game, drawing whistles of frustration from the home crowd. Kevin De Bruyne, earning his 125th international cap, initiated the breakthrough by setting up Mika Godts on the left flank. Godts, the newly signed Paris Saint-Germain attacker, dribbled past three defenders and successfully turned Gianluca Mancini before slotting the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma for his first international goal.
Belgium’s second goal arrived in the second half via Dodi Lukebakio, who capitalized on another transition opportunity by scoring from outside the penalty area, despite a desperate defensive recovery effort from Sandro Tonali. The initial turnover had been prompted by an error from Italy’s debutant midfielder, Alessandro Romano, who recently switched his international allegiance from Switzerland. Defensively, Italy felt the absence of the suspended Alessandro Bastoni, with Diego Coppola, his replacement, unable to prevent the visitors’ opening score.
This fixture marked a positive start for new Belgium coach Mark van Bommel, who took over following Rudi Garcia’s departure. Conversely, Italy’s path forward remains difficult. The team faces a challenging schedule in the coming days, with an away match against Turkiye on Monday, followed by a trip to France next Friday, before wrapping up the current Nations League phase at home in Bologna against Turkiye.
