Donnarumma: ‘Italy want to control the game, but World Cup wound still painful’

Donnarumma: ‘Italy want to control the game, but World Cup wound still painful’ Gianluigi Donnarumma admits Italy players tried to avoid discussing the World Cup play-off, instead focusing on tomorrow’s Belgium match under Roberto Mancini. ‘We want to control the game.’ It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST). The Nations League Group A is completed by France and Vincenzo Montella’s Turkiye. This is the first competitive match since the Nazionale lost the 2026 World Cup play-off final against Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties, having been down to 10 men for most of it following Alessandro Bastoni’s red card. Donnarumma and Italy look to the future ZENICA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – MARCH 31: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy shows his dejection after the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-offs match between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Italy at Stadion Bilino Polje on March 31, 2026 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images) “It’s been very tough,” confessed Donnarumma to Sky Sport Italia. “I struggle to even explain it, this has been a very long and difficult summer, but we must start again. We are hungry, it’s a new era, tomorrow we have a big game and the fans like us are disappointed, so it’s up to us to fire them up and get them to fall back in love with the Azzurri jersey.” There are several new faces who weren’t part of that side in Bosnia, including Cagliari midfielder Alessandro Romano, who is tipped to start tomorrow against Belgium. “I’ve been impressed with everyone, they are all strong players. Alessandro Romano really impressed me, but there’s a lot of quality in the youngsters and I am sure they’ll be the future of the Nazionale. “We in the old guard must help them to settle and get them through difficult moments.” Italy training session overseen by coach Roberto Mancini in September 2026 (figc.it) The Manchester City goalkeeper was asked if the Italy players who were there in the World Cup play-off sat down to talk about what went so wrong. “The truth is that there was zero discussion between us, other than today for a minute, because honestly the pain is still too great to reopen that wound. The important thing is to look forward, to build a great Nazionale, and coach Mancini will give us a big hand with that.” BERGAMO, ITALY – MARCH 26: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy celebrates his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-offs match between Italy and Northern Ireland at Stadio di Bergamo on March 26, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) Donnarumma was part of the Italy side that won the EURO 2020 trophy under Mancini, so is hoping for a return to that style of football after Luciano Spalletti and Gennaro Gattuso. “We definitely believe in his football, we want to be pro-active, positive, aggressive, to control the game. We will be facing strong opponents in the Nations League, but we want to take charge and dominate the game. “We learned from the Euros and want to get fans in love with the Azzurri again.”