After more than an hour of goalless toil against Germany last Saturday, Italy manager Roberto Mancini turned to his bench.
But when the camera panned to the substitute readied on the touchline, many Azzurri fans didn’t know who they were looking at. The answer, as Germany would soon find out to their cost, was an 18-year-old FC Zurich forward called Wilfried Gnonto.
Within five minutes of the diminutive winger’s introduction, he skinned his marker and whipped an inviting cross into the six-yard box to set up Lorenzo Pellegrini for the opening goal.
Germany soon struck back to earn a 1-1 draw, but the impact of the unknown youngster was a symbolic moment in what has been billed as a new era for the Italian national team.
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In the Italian media, Corriere dello Sport branded it “The Reawakening”, Gazzetta said there was “light ahead”, while Sky announced: “Mancini the visionary has returned”.
If England fans expect a Euro 2020 final rematch on Saturday, they will be disappointed, as this Italy team will likely look very different from the one that broke Wembley hearts 11 months ago to the day.
Italy suffered a spectacular post-Euros slump, winning one of their final five World Cup qualifiers to drop into second place before a humiliating play-off defeat to North Macedonia.
Mancini fielded criticism for being too loyal to the Euros-winning players, before a 3-0 loss to Argentina in the “Finalissima” earlier this month heralded the end for the old guard.
“I must thank the guys who have played in these last four years…but we had it in mind that after this game certain things would change,” Mancini said. “We need to find new players and put together a team that will suffer to start with but could bring us joy in the future”.
The coach has been true to his word. Gnonto’s call-up was the most surprising, as few knew much about the former Inter youth player, who is juggling his newfound fame with preparation for his final high school exams.
“I had to bring him his books so he can study at the training ground,” Gnonto’s father Boris said.
Gnonto’s time in the Italy camp started with him waiting for an hour outside the Argentina changing room to get Lionel Messi’s autograph, but he has now featured in each of their last two games, having started in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Hungary.
The teenager is far from the only surprise selection, though; Davide Frattesi, Mattia Cancellieri, Federico Dimarco, Samuele Ricci, Tommaso Pobega and Alessio Zerbin also earned debuts in the last two games.
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Mancini has always been open to new faces, with Zerbin – who spent this season on loan from Napoli in Serie B with Frosinone – being the 45th player he’s handed a debut to in four years.
More could follow: Zerbin’s Frosinone team-mate Federico Gatti, Brazil-born Lazio defender Luiz Felipe, Atalanta teenager Giorgio Scalvini, Verona forward Gianluca Caprari and another Serie B player, SPAL’s Salvatore Esposito, are still in the squad waiting on an Italy bow.
Asked about giving caps to second-tier players, Mancini said: “They play football in Serie B too, it’s not another sport!”
But the players themselves can barely believe it. Cancellieri, who made just 12 Serie A appearances for Verona in 2021-22, described his debut as “an absurd emotion” and praised Mancini’s “courage to launch young players”.
The new era has begun, and for the Azzurri, the hope is that it will be more long-lasting than the Euro 2020 champions.
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