Italy has already made peace with the much-maligned Mancini

What has this Nations League matchday taught us, apart from the fact that the international break for a largely redundant tournament is a significant inconvenience and that Harry Kane is brilliant, handsome and incredibly fair-haired? First and foremost, it demonstrated that Italy has reconciled with Roberto Mancini: after jeering his return to the dugout and writing him off following the disastrous debut against Belgium, the nation is now ready to erect statues of him taller than the one the Peruvians built for the Pope in every square across the country.

The 3–1 win over France was interpreted by La Gazzetta dello Sport as the result of ‘Premier-style substitutions’ (referring to the Premier League, not Giorgia Meloni); having been forced to watch the match on a delayed broadcast – there was England v Croatia on at the same time – I saw it more as a quintessentially Italian victory, characterised by skilful defending and swift counter-attacks. The Azzurri now lead their group, Mancini is already being hailed as a hero, and a drama is looming: “A draw against Belgium will do,” say journalists and fans, knocking on wood, but why settle for a draw when a win would mean finishing top of the group and securing a favourable draw for the Nations League finals?

On the other hand, wasn’t it enough to beat Bosnia to qualify for the World Cup, or North Macedonia, or Sweden? This is the real test to see if you’ve turned a corner: whether you’ll manage to lose to Belgium’s has-beens and finish a dismal third in the group, or whether you’ll stick to your pointless tradition of always reaching the semi-finals of the Nations League only to shit yourselves when it really matters.

Another lesson to be learnt from today is a suspicion that is growing ever stronger within me: could it be that Zinedine Zidane, aura aside, is something of a bluff? Everyone keeps talking about his France side as one of the strongest teams in the world, but setting aside the excuse of key absences, they don’t exactly play dazzling football, let alone play in a cynically effective manner: against Italy, for long stretches they looked like eleven self-indulgent players trying to force their way into the net with a series of classy little touches. “I’d love to manage Juventus one day,” said the former Real Madrid manager and Juventus midfielder. If the standard is what it is at the moment, good luck with that. Endrick, on the other hand, will not be heading to Milan. The Brazilian talent, who is struggling for playing time at Real Madrid, is reportedly looking with interest towards Serie A to get more game time, thanks to a league that is increasingly a stepping stone for young players and a graveyard for the old guard. At least that is what our colleagues at Corriere dello Sport reported a few days ago—perhaps following a particularly spirited editorial drinks session: “Christ’s athlete stops the Devil”, read the headline in Zazzaroni’s newspaper, explaining that the footballer – who is part of a Christian group that preaches the Gospel in the world of sport – would not want to play for a club with a satanic symbol and would therefore prefer Roma. The fact that the Corriere dello Sport sells many copies in Rome and amongst Roma fans, of course, has nothing to do with it. It may be reasonable to frame the narrative in this way, yet one wonders whether a more nuanced formulation might have been chosen.