Vincenzo Montella insists he ‘didn’t expect’ the Turkiye fans to react so angrily during the 4-1 defeat to Italy ‘after all these lads have done in the last three years.’

The Italian tactician had already been facing strong criticism after the group stage exit from the 2026 World Cup, then a 1-0 Nations League home loss to France.

His men were shell-shocked in the first half against Italy, trailing 3-0 to goals from Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Frattesi and Michael Kayode.

Although Baris Alper Yilmaz pulled one back straight after the restart and had another disallowed for offside, Francesco Pio Esposito completed the 4-1 rout.

“The first half-hour was certainly one to forget,” Montella told Sky Sport Italia.

“Playing every three days at this level requires a certain focus and experience that we are currently lacking. We were in the Nations League C two years ago, won the Nations League B last time, so we showed that we clearly need to improve in this aspect.

“It requires a mental as well as physical reset every few days, and that isn’t an easy thing to learn quickly.”

Montella was asked where it all went so very wrong against Italy in the first half.