Italy manager Roberto Mancini has backed striker Ciro Immobile and praised full debutant Moise Kean following the Azzurri’s 2-0 win against Finland on Saturday night.
The Italians sit joint top of their Euro 2020 qualifying group with Greece after both sides enjoyed two-goal wins in the first match of the qualifying campaign. Nicolo Barella and Moise Kean both got on the scoresheet for Italy as they had to fight through an organised Finish defence throughout the whole match.
Mancini spoke to Rai Sport via Football Italia after the match, stating:
“We have a lot of work to do, but it’s natural after five months that we’d make a few mistakes. We need to keep working, aware that every match is difficult.”
The manager had high praise for Kean following his full debut for the squad, in which the ?Juventus youngster scored his first goal for the national team.
“Kean has quality, enormous potential and it all depends on him. It’s not difficult to see talent in Kean and Nicolò Zaniolo, so it’s not a risk to pick them.”
Immobile did not score in the match, taking his goalless drought to ten straight matches in international competition, but Mancini came to the defence of the striker by saying:
Let’