Mancini coy on potential Italy return: ‘I’ll watch the World Cup’

Ex-Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been linked with a return as the Azzurri boss, but he refused to discuss the matter on Wednesday: ‘I’ll watch the World Cup.’

Former Italy coach Mancini refused to comment on speculations linking him with a potential return as the Azzurri CT.

Mancini attended an event organised by Rome’s medical association on Wednesday, but, as reported by Lapresse, he provided no updates on his future, only saying that he’ll “watch the World Cup” this summer.

The Azzurri have failed to qualify for the third time in a row, losing the World Cup play-off final on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March.

Silvio Baldini will lead the senior Azzurri team for the June friendlies, but the Italian FA will hire a new head coach after the presidential elections on June 22, 2026.

Mancini is among the leading candidates for the job, according to Italian sources, alongside Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri and Claudio Ranieri.

Mancini suddenly stepped down as Italy’s head coach in 2023. He had won the European Championship in 2021 but failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

He was hired by the Saudi Arabia national team weeks after walking away from the Italy job, a decision that he later judged as a mistake.

During today’s event, Mancini also spoke about the influence of algorithms and AI in football.

“This is a technology that has already entered football, but honestly,” Mancini said.

“I think it’s important to decide based on what you see and what you know, because algorithms can get it wrong in football.”

Mancini surely believes AI won’t be able to replace a football coach one day: “I don’t think so; I still believe the human aspect prevails,” he concluded.