Italy national team head coach Roberto Mancini is expected to be in attendance for two Champions League matches over the next two days and could observe four potential Azzurri stars in those games according to the latest reports.
Which Italy internationals will Mancini watch in this week’s Champions League games?
The 2026-27 Champions League campaign gets underway on Tuesday evening, headlined by a clash of two of the biggest sides on the continent in Real Madrid vs. Inter.
According to reports from the Corriere dello Sport, Italy national team head coach Mancini will be among the spectators at the Bernabeu for Tuesday night’s clash between Real Madrid and Inter.
He is expected to keep an eye on three Italy stars who are all expected to be included in the national team squad for the upcoming September-October international break, which begins on Monday, September 21.
The three Azzurri hopefuls in the Inter squad are Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella and Pio Esposito. Bastoni and Barella are expected to start against Real Madrid, while Esposito is likely to start on the bench behind Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram. Federico Dimarco has been left at home due to an issue with his knee.
According to Tuesday’s reports, Mancini is also expected to attend the Champions League match between Sporting CP and Galatasaray at 20.00 BST on Wednesday evening, presumably to keep an eye on 22-year-old midfielder Issa Doumbia, who joined the Portuguese side from Venezia in a deal worth €20m plus bonuses earlier this summer.
