World Cup up next for Mancini and Co

PARIS • Across Europe, it is time for people to go back to work at the end of the summer holidays, and for Italy, it is back to business too, less than eight weeks after their Euro 2020 triumph at Wembley.

Fifty-three days on from the joy of beating England on penalties on a feverish night in London, the Azzurri will take the acclaim of their own supporters when they play Bulgaria in Florence in a 2022 World Cup qualifier tomorrow.

Roberto Mancini's team cannot afford to rest on their laurels because until they have secured qualification for the Finals in Qatar, they will not have completely erased the memory of their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Italy are unbeaten in 34 games - including winning their first three qualifiers back in March - and now they face three more matches in eight days with a trip to Switzerland and a home meeting with Lithuania also on the agenda.

"I would like the boys to pick up where they left off. As a national team, we can still improve between now and the World Cup, but first, we have to qualify," said Mancini.

As Italy know well, the World Cup is a different ball game to the Euro, and not just because the next one takes place in Qatar from November to December next year.

Only the winners of the 10 qualifying groups are certain to qualify, with the remaining three places up for grabs in play-offs next March.

Italy's game on Sunday in Basel against Switzerland, their biggest rivals in Group C, will therefore be crucial.

At the moment, the biggest European names with work to do are the Netherlands and Germany, two powerhouses who head into the autumn with new coaches.

Hansi Flick is the new man in charge of Germany after 15 years under Joachim Low and, after winning the Champions League with Bayern Munich last year, he is the man tasked with restoring pride to a team that went out of Euro 2020 in the last 16.

"I'm looking forward to working with him. I have big goals. I want to be a world champion," said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Germany, who suffered their first loss in World Cup qualifying in 20 years in March, are currently third in Group J, but have a decent run of fixtures, with Liechtenstein tomorrow, Armenia and Iceland.

The Dutch, who also failed to qualify for the last World Cup, sacked Frank de Boer after going out of Euro 2020 in the last 16 and have reappointed Louis van Gaal.

Games that Italy have won, their best-ever unbeaten run in international football.

The man who led the Oranje to the 2014 World Cup semi-finals takes over a team currently trailing Group G leaders Turkey by a point.

It could be a challenging start to van Gaal's third stint as national coach as the Netherlands play Norway in Oslo before hosting Montenegro and Turkey.

For England, it is all about putting the pain of their Euro final defeat behind them as they face Group I pitfalls away in Hungary tomorrow and Poland next Wednesday, either side of a home meeting with minnows Andorra.

"There is no doubt that individually these players are going to improve and continue to improve," England manager Gareth Southgate said after naming a squad that is near identical to their Euro 2020 team.

While home fans will be in attendance for European qualifiers, world body Fifa and European body Uefa have banned away supporters due to "recent Covid spikes in Europe".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE