Dino Zoff was not encouraged by what he saw at the Stadio Olimpico on Friday evening , but the 1982 World Cup-winning captain believes there is only one direction available to Roberto Mancini’s Italy.

Speaking to La Repubblica after Friday’s 2-0 defeat to Belgium, with quotes via CalcioMercato , Zoff pointed to the nerves that gripped the side early on. “It seemed very fearful to me initially. In the first half it suffered a lot,” he said. “Afterwards it fought, but that tension I saw at the start struck me.”

With three Nations League fixtures still to come in ten days, starting away to Vincenzo Montella’s Turkiye, Zoff sees value in the schedule itself.

“You need to talk little and work a lot. These other three games will be important, the players will be able to spend time together. We are at the start of a new path and, even if there is not much time, I am fairly confident.”

He was unbothered by the average age of Mancini’s starting XI, which came in at 23. “Lads who are good can play at 16, in my opinion. The problems are elsewhere.”

Asked where those problems lie, the former goalkeeper pointed forward. “I would say up front, that is where it struggled. Even when we came out in the second half we did not score. You have to look for quality.”

And while he accepts the job is harder than it was in 2018, that is precisely what gives him hope.

“Yes, it is obvious. We are coming off a dark period. It is also true that it cannot be done any worse than this. That works in his favour: it is easier to grow. In the situation we are in, we can only improve.”