Florence (AP) – Roberto Mancini will remain the Italian national football coach until the 2026 World Cup. As Italy’s FIGC announced, the 56-year-old extended his contract shortly before the start of the European Championship.

Mancini should lead Squadra Azura to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, 2024 EM in Germany and 2026 tournaments in Canada, Mexico and USA after EM this summer. “I’m very happy,” the national coach said.

Mancini, who was a three-time Italian champion with Inter Milan, took over the Azzurri after missing the World Cup in 2018 and has added several young players to the team since then. He is by far the most successful national coach in Italian football history. Under his direction, the team won 70 percent of the first 30 matches. “We want to continue these three years of work,” said Gabriel Gravina, president of the association.

Italy has been unbeaten for 25 games, the last time as World Champion Coach Marcello Lippi from 2004 to 2006. The most recent defeat so far was a 1–0 defeat in Portugal on September 10, 2018. Italy will play their first match of the European Championship against Turkey on 11 June. Other rivals in Group A are Switzerland and Wales.

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