Maccarone: ‘Italy focus only on victory in Belgium, Pio Esposito has great intelligence’

Maccarone: ‘Italy focus only on victory in Belgium, Pio Esposito has great intelligence’ Roberto Mancini’s assistant Massimo Maccarone assures Italy will be ‘focused on only one result’ against Belgium this evening, and explains Pio Esposito has ‘great intelligence.’ It kicks off at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET). You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog. MILAN – NOVEMBER 12: Davide Frattesi of Italy celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammates during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and France at San Siro Stadium on November 12, 2026 in Milan. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images) The hopes were not high when Mancini made his return to the Azzurri bench with a 2-0 home defeat to Belgium on September 25, prompting fears of relegation to Nations League B. Instead, they are seven weeks later on top of their group, having earned a 1-1 draw in Paris and leapfrogged France thanks to a superior head-to-head record after Thursday’s 3-1 victory at San Siro. A point this evening would suffice to secure a quarter-final place in the Nations League, but Italy have their sights set on top spot and revenge for their loss in Rome. Italy playing to win BOLOGNA – OCTOBER 05: Roberto Mancini, Manager of Italy, looks on before the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Türkiye at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on October 05, 2026 in Bologna. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) “The lads are accustomed to a certain style of game, they need to not think about getting two results out of three, but only on the one,” Maccarone told RAI Sport. It is reported that Federico Dimarco won’t be bumped into a more advanced role, because Mancini saw that as a sign of being too defensive. MILAN – NOVEMBER 12: Adrien Rabiot of France runs with the ball under pressure from Riccardo Calafiori of Italy during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and France at San Siro Stadium on November 12, 2026 in Milan. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images) Maccarone is of course a former striker at Middlesbrough, so does he give Inter’s Francesco Pio Esposito some pointers? “Pio Esposito is very humble and eager to learn, he always asks for notes on how his games went. I try to give advice, he accepts it eagerly, and when you see a player act like that, it is a sign of great intelligence.”