Italy arrive in Bursa with Roberto Mancini reshaping his squad after a bruising return to the Azzurri bench, while Turkey also chase an immediate response in a Nations League group already demanding early points.
Mancini’s second spell in charge began with a 2-0 home defeat to Belgium in Rome on Friday in League A Group 1. For Monday’s trip to face Turkey, he has left 10 players at Coverciano as Italy manage a three-match stretch that continues against France in Saint-Denis on Friday before Turkey visit Italy on 5 October.
Mancini rotates before the French test
Nicolò Barella, Gianluca Mancini, Samuele Ricci, Daniel Maldini, Diego Coppola, Honest Ahanor, Mohamed Ali Zoma, Samuele Inacio, Eddy Kouadio and Massimo Pessina have remained in Italy rather than travel to Bursa.
The coach said the distance involved made it unnecessary to take every player, with the selection plan designed to spread the workload over the remaining fixtures. He has adopted an approach similar to Germany coach Jürgen Klopp, who has used 44 players across two separate squads.
Mancini does not expect a major tactical alteration against Turkey, but stressed that Italy must keep developing after another failure to reach the World Cup. The Azzurri were eliminated from the 2026 qualifying play-off final in Zenica in March, losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He pointed to Italy’s previous generations, including Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero, and said the task now is to build another group capable of competing at that level.
There is one important return in defence: Alessandro Bastoni is available again at centre-back after missing the Belgium match through suspension. His ban followed the red card he received in March during the defeat in Zenica.
Turkey need a result at home
Turkey begin the Bursa meeting under pressure of their own after opening this Nations League campaign with a 1-0 loss to France in Kocaeli. Arda Güler remains the central figure in the home side’s attack as they seek their first points.
Goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, listed with Celta, is set to replace Uğurcan Çakır, who was sent off on Thursday. With France next for Italy and little margin for either side after their opening defeats, the Bursa fixture offers both teams a chance to steady their campaign before the group moves on.
