Italy shocked by Mancini's resignation as coach

Italy coach Roberto Mancini surprisingly resigned on Sunday, ending an up-and-down tenure with the men’s national team that included a European Championship title in 2021 but also a failed qualification for last year’s World Cup.

The Italian soccer federation issued a short announcement saying that Mancini communicated his resignation “late last night,” adding that a new coach would be named “over the next days.”

“I thank all my players and fans who have accompanied me in these five years,” Mancini wrote on Instagram. “I will always carry the extraordinary victory of the 2020 European Championship in my heart. It has been an honour.”

The federation doesn’t have much time with Euro 2024 qualifying matches against North Macedonia and Ukraine scheduled for Sept. 10 and 12, respectively.

Mancini took charge of the team in 2018 after they failed to qualify for the World Cup, having previously not missed a World Cup since 1958.

He guided Italy to success at the European Championship in 2021, but the team once again failed to qualify for last year’s World Cup in Qatar.

In June, Italy claimed third place at the Nations League finals under Mancini. His team also went on a run of 37 games without defeat between October 2018 and October 2021 — a record in men’s international soccer.

“A significant page in the history of the Azzurri, which began in May 2018 and ended with the 2023 Nations League Finals, comes to an end,” the Italian soccer federation said in a statement. “In between, the victory at Euro 2020, a triumph conquered by a group in which all the individuals were able to become a team.”

Information from Reuters was used in this report.