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Roberto Mancini to be named Italy head coach for second time, source says

Former Italy manager Roberto Mancini is reportedly set to return as national team coach, replacing Gennaro Gattuso. The move comes after Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, with the federation also holding talks with Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 5 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 22–28, 2026 Published Aug 14

Mancini Set for Second Spell as Italy Coach, Reports Say

Italy are expected to appoint Roberto Mancini as their national team coach for a second time, according to reports from Reuters and Italian media. The 61-year-old, who led the Azzurri to the European Championship title in 2021, would replace Gennaro Gattuso, who left the post in April after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third straight time.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has been searching for a new coach after Italy missed the 2026 World Cup, having also failed to qualify in 2018 and 2022. According to the BBC, Italy have not featured at a World Cup finals since 2014. The federation had initially pursued former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, with FIGC president Giovanni Malago confirming talks had taken place and indicating that financial exceptions would be made for the Spaniard. Carlo Ancelotti was also approached, according to multiple reports.

Guardiola, who left Manchester City at the end of last season, was seen as the federation's first choice. However, a source close to the matter told Reuters that Mancini is now set to return. Italian media reported that Malago announced the appointment during a Federal Council meeting, saying: "Mancini is the coach." The BBC noted that Mancini previously managed Italy from 2018 to 2023, and that he led the team to a record 37-game unbeaten run before resigning in August 2023.

Mancini's potential return follows the withdrawal of Andrea Pirlo from the race. Pirlo said he was no longer a candidate after days of controversy over his ties to a Russian betting company. Several Italian politicians criticised the choice, noting Pirlo's role as global ambassador for Russia's Fonbet, a company linked to sporting events involving veterans of Moscow's war in Ukraine. Pirlo denied any political meaning to his commercial collaboration.

Italy are set to begin their Nations League campaign on September 25 at home to Belgium, followed by a trip to Turkey three days later. Mancini, who has also managed Inter Milan, Lazio, and Manchester City, would take charge with the team still seeking its first World Cup appearance since 2014.

How each outlet told it

Al Jazeera as of Jul 22, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC

Framing: Guardiola in talks for Italy job — Neutral

Facts Included:

Italy's football federation chief held talks with Pep Guardiola over the vacant role
Financial exceptions would be made for Guardiola if he were hired
Guardiola has firsthand knowledge of Italian football
Italy has won four World Cups
Guardiola stepped down at Manchester City at the end of last season

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Al Jazeera as of Jul 24, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC

Framing: Guardiola and Ancelotti approached for Italy job — Informative

Facts Included:

The FIGC has talked to Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti about taking over the national team
The FIGC hopes to announce the new coach within the week
Roberto Mancini and Andrea Pirlo are also being considered as candidates
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third straight time

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Al Jazeera as of Jul 28, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC

Framing: Mancini returns as Italy coach — Informative

Facts Included:

Roberto Mancini is set for a second spell as Italy's national team coach
Mancini will replace Gennaro Gattuso
Mancini guided Italy to the European Championship title in 2021
Italy has failed to qualify for the World Cup since 2014

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BBC — World as of Jul 28, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC

Framing: Mancini favourite for Italy job — Neutral

Facts Included:

Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti were approached by the FIGC
Roberto Mancini is a favourite to take charge of the national team
Mancini led Italy to the European Championship title in 2021
Italy starts their Nations League campaign on September 25

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BBC — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC

Framing: Pirlo out of running for Italy job — Critical

Facts Included:

Andrea Pirlo is no longer a candidate to coach the Italian national side
Pirlo's ties to a Russian betting company sparked controversy
Pirlo appeared alongside pro-Kremlin figures at a Fonbet event
Italy's football community is undergoing soul-searching after failing to qualify for the World Cup

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What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimItaly's football federation chief held talks with Pep Guardiola over the vacant role.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of Jul 22, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC
ClaimFinancial exceptions would be made for Guardiola if he were hired.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of Jul 22, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC
ClaimGuardiola has firsthand knowledge of Italian football.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of Jul 22, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC
ClaimItaly has won four World Cups.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of Jul 22, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC
ClaimGuardiola stepped down at Manchester City at the end of last season.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of Jul 22, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC
ClaimThe FIGC has talked to Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti about taking over the national team.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeera as of Jul 24, 2026, 8:45 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimRoberto Mancini is set for a second spell as Italy's national team coach.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of Jul 28, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC
ClaimMancini will replace Gennaro Gattuso.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of Jul 28, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC
ClaimMancini guided Italy to the European Championship title in 2021.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeera as of Jul 28, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimAndrea Pirlo is no longer a candidate to coach the Italian national side.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via BBC — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC
ClaimPirlo's ties to a Russian betting company sparked controversy.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via BBC — World as of Jul 27, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC
ClaimItaly starts their Nations League campaign on September 25.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via BBC — World as of Jul 28, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC
ClaimItaly has failed to qualify for the World Cup since 2014.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeera as of Jul 28, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 5 articles consulted: Al Jazeera, BBC — World 13 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14