As he prepares his squad for their Nations League semi-final against Spain, Roberto Mancini said on Tuesday that he wants Italy to maintain their world-record unbeaten record running until after next year's World Cup.
The San Siro encounter on Wednesday will be the toughest test of Italy's 37-match unbeaten streak since winning Euro 2020 in the summer.
After releasing his squad, Spain coach Luis Enrique claimed that each match takes Italy "closer to losing," but Mancini hopes to extend his team's run to the Qatar World Cup and beyond.
"We've played 37 games thus far, but we want to keep going for a long period. It all depends on how we perform in the upcoming matches. We know we have a fantastic team, but we must continue to improve in order to keep winning ", Mancini said to the press.
Mancini wants unbeaten run until after World Cup ahead of Spain clash
The opening match of a Final Four which is being held in Milan and Turin will be a replay of a thrilling semi-final between Italy and Spain at the Euro which the Azzurri won on penalties.
Mancini said in an interview with UEFA on Monday that Spain were the toughest team Italy faced in the whole tournament, and the 56-year-old has pitched the match and the Final Four as a chance to test themselves against the best with the World Cup little more than a year away.
"It's an important competition. Obviously it comes after the Euro and therefore the matches might seem lesser events", he said.
"They're matches between the four best in Europe and they're always two important matches to help us improve".
"We need to improve because we have young players who need to play important matches. We have 14 months to the World Cup, and in those 14 months we need to learn to play even better".
