Italy coach Roberto Mancini has thrown down the gauntlet to his youngsters to step up and fill their dearth of talent at the top end of the pitch. The comments came after Thursday night’s 2-1 loss to Spain in the semi-finals of the Nations League, which saw their hopes of silverware this summer ended.
Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto was one of those included in the Italy squad for the game, but he remained an unused substitute with Mancini opting to use the likes of Ciro Immobile, who scored a penalty, Nicolo Zaniolo and Federico Chiesa in attacking areas. Gnonto wasn’t the only forward overlooked by Mancini, with Mateo Retegui and Giacomo Raspadori being left to watch from the bench, too.
After the game, though, Mancini could be heard complaining about his lack of attacking options. Given, Gnonto is one of the youngest and most promising attackers in and around the senior picture at present, the head coach’s words can certainly be seen as a challenge for the 19-year-old.
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“At this moment, we have a number of great midfielders and defenders, but we are lacking great forwards,” Mancini said. “I hope that in the future, players from the youth teams can step up.”
Gnonto can currently be included as one of those players in the national youth teams, following his inclusion in the Under-21s squad for this summer’s European U21 Championships in Romania and Georgia. The forward, who received his first senior cap at the age 18, is no stranger to youth teams, but his rapid rise through the ranks means he has never featured for the U21s, skipping the level entirely.
Nevertheless, following this Sunday’s third place play-off against Netherlands, Gnonto will join up with Paolo Nicolato’s side ahead of the tournament, and his presence in the side is a clear boost to their hopes of winning the competition.
"On Willy it's right to shed some light,” U21s boss Nicolato has said regarding Gnonto’s inclusion in the squad. “We wanted to call him up in March 2022, then I shared the decision to leave him at the Under 19s because there were qualifiers for the World Cup and we all know how it ended.
"Then in June Mancini's call-up arrived. We decided to bring him even though he was already involved in the Nations League also thanks to the club he belongs to, which didn't create any problems for us. He did the whole process in the national youth teams and we know his value, both technically and humanly. He is excited to come and we are very happy to have him."
Italy kick off their U21s Euros campaign on June 22 against France, with Gnonto set to go head to head with his Leeds teammate Illan Meslier. Norway also feature in Italy’s group, meaning the forward could come up against Kristoffer Klaesson and Leo Hjelde.
