Alessandro Bastoni says he will remain “in debt to the Italian people for the next four years” after Italy’s latest failure to qualify for the World Cup, but has called for patience as Roberto Mancini begins rebuilding the national team.
Italy missed out on a third successive World Cup after losing to Bosnia-Herzegovina on penalties following a 1-1 draw in their play-off in March.
Their hopes were severely damaged when Bastoni was sent off late in the first half after bringing down Amar Memic as he ran through on goal.
The defeat made Italy the first former world champions to fail to reach three consecutive World Cups. It also led to Gennaro Gattuso’s dismissal and Mancini’s return, after a lengthy and frustrating process to appoint a new coach.
Mancini’s second spell began with a 2-0 Nations League defeat by France last week. Italy responded emphatically on Monday, beating Turkiye 4-1, with Bastoni opening the scoring as they established a 3-0 lead inside 27 minutes.
Reflecting on the result, the defender said the loss in Zenica remained firmly in his thoughts and accepted that he had to make amends for his dismissal.
“It was inevitable that my mind would go back to Zenica,” Bastoni told RAI Sport. “I will be in debt to the Italian people for the next four years.
“When faced with difficult situations, I have always chosen to emerge with my head held high and take my responsibility.
“We hit rock bottom in recent years, but we want to get back on our feet.
“All we ask for is some balance and patience in judging this side, as there are many young players who want to learn.”
Italy’s victory over Turkiye was their first away win by a margin of at least three goals since November 2019, when they defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0.
It was also Mancini’s first win since returning to the Italy job. His previous victory had come 1,198 days earlier, when Italy beat the Netherlands 3-2 in the Nations League third-place play-off in June 2023. Mancini then ended his first spell in charge to take over as manager of Saudi Arabia.
Bastoni said the squad was still developing but believed the players had the ability to improve, with France awaiting Italy on Friday.
“We are still a young team overall, we have quality and we want to prove what we can do,” he added.
“We mustn’t get too over-excited now, we had some peaks last year too, and then saw what happened. It is at least good to feel happy every now and then.”