How Roberto Mancini has rebuilt Italy after their 2018 World Cup failure

For a footballing nation as proud as Italy, their abject failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia might have sent managers running as far away from the top job as possible.

Not for Roberto Mancini. He took one look at his country's infrastructure and saw a phoenix ready to burst from the ashes as he took the reins from the diastrous Gian Piero Ventura in May 2018.

Three years later, he has transformed a withering and underperforming group of players into real contenders for Euro 2020 having gone 25 games unbeaten. The secret to their remarkable revival? Young talent, passion and trust', former Man City boss Mancini claims.

'I always believed that Italy had talented players,' he said after Italy secured their spot at the Euros. 'We might have to wait a little for their maturation, but the talent is there nonetheless.

'At times there are situations, like missing out on the World Cup, but I still think Italian football provides some of the best players in the world. That is why I felt so positive going into this job, as I knew I just had to show faith and wait for the players.'

Mancini's entire blueprint for Italy has been around heralding in the next generation - especially after their 1-0 World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden in 2018 triggered a string of retirements from Gianluigi Buffon, Giorginio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Daniele De Rossi.

He had to more or less tear up the book and start over as he sifted through the rubble of Ventura's ill-fated tenure.

The last time Italy had failed to qualify for a World Cup was 1958. You had to be older than 60 to remember a tournament without them, but a troublesome qualifying campaign left them in real danger of making it a reality again. After finishing second in their group behind Spain, they were forced into a two-legged play-off against Sweden in November 2017.

The Swedes won the first leg at home 1-0 thanks to a Jakob Johansson strike, with the pedestrian Italians having just one shot on target throughout. The second leg saw them absolutely dominate the game, with 73 per cent possession, but they failed to find a way through and Sweden marched through to Russia after holding them to a 0-0 stalemate.

Players collapsed to the turf, there were tears - Buffon was full of emotion knowing he would bow out from the international stage with an echo of failure.

'I'm not sorry for myself but all of Italian football. We failed at something which also means something on a social level. There's regret at finishing like that, not because time passes.

'We have pride, strength and we're stubborn. We know how to get back up again as we've always done.'

And get back up they did. In truth, there was only one direction to go in. Ventura was sacked two days later, but it would be seven months before Mancini arrived on the scene to pick up the pieces. He was appointed in May 2018 - just after the Azzurri had dropped to their lowest ever FIFA ranking of 21st.

So he got to work at reforging a fallen empire - with a solid foundation of hungry youngsters at the heart of it. He called up Nicolo Zaniolo in his first squad before he had even made his bow for Roma. Mancini wanted players who knew what it meant to wear the blue shirt.

He has called up players who have never been included in the squads before from mid table clubs such as Verona and Spezia - with more than 30 players given their first caps under his leadership.

Gianluigi Donnarumma quickly became the firm No.1 under his leadership while he was still a teenager and he has also integrated Juventus starlet Federico Chiesa, Inter's Nicola Barella and Stefano Sensi, Milan's Sandro Tonali and PSG's Moise Kean.

His revamped side has seen Chelsea's Jorginho as a focal point in the heart of his midfield alongside Marco Verratti, with Immobile leading the line and supported by Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernadeschi.

The start to his tenure was something of a mixed bag. His first game saw the team sneak past Saudi Arabia 2-1 before they were beaten 3-1 by France and held to a 1-1 draw against Holland.

The defeat to Les Bleus highlighted Italy's problem - the French were able to call on the likes of Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann while his side were still a diamond in the rough. It would take time for the seeds to flower, and Mancini was prepared to be patient.

His primary focus was putting things right and qualifying the team for the Euros. The Nations League, if anything, was a distraction. They were beaten 1-0 by eventual winners Portugal in the tournament's inaugural year, finishing second behind them in their group.

But that game, on September 10, 2018, was significant - because it's the last time Mancini's men tasted defeat.

When the Euro qualifiers kicked off in March 2019, the Azzurri didn't look back. It all started with a 2-0 win over Finland - with youngsters Kean and Barella signalling the beginning of Mancini's youth era as both got on the scoresheet.

They would go on to win all ten of their games to make a mockery of qualifying and quickly banish those haunting memories of the Sweden game as they finished 22 points clear of second placed Finland. That incredible run included a 6-0 win over Lichenstein and a 9-1 mauling of Armenia - the latter of which was their biggest victory since 1948.

But how has Mancini inspired such a dramatic turnaround in fortunes? For a start, he's implemented a traditional passing style of play that his squad have totally bought into that allows the team to dominate games from the first whistle.

Another factor is keeping the morale high. Mancini plays motivating music for his squad while together in the camp - Robbie Williams' I Love My Life is known to be a favourite - and encourages initiations for those who have received their first call-ups and caps.

Juventus star Leonardo Bonucci - one of the most experienced players left in the squad at 33 - hailed Mancini for creating a 'family' atmosphere in the Italian set-up, saying every player feels the joy of representing their country.

'A strong rapport has been created between the players and Mancini,' he said after beating Greece 2-0 in 2019 - which confirmed their place at the Euros.

'Nobody ever turns up late, there's never a word out of place. It's not just a selection of players, but a real team. Once we put the Azzurri jersey on, we all feel joy and enthusiasm, we feel united, like a family.'

The team wore a striking new dark green 'renaissance' kit during that win over Greece - a strange move for a team know as 'the blues', but it represented the changing of the guard in the history of this iconic footballing nation.

'Renaissance' translates as 'a revival of or renewed interest in something', and there are certainly more Italy fans on board now since their humiliation against Sweden. The kit had its critics at the time but it will go down as a symbol of their transformation under Mancini.

Still, there is much work to be done as Euro 2020 looms on the horizon. Mancini now has a hungry team which fights for each other and playing an attractive brand of football, but still lacks truly world class names to rival the likes of France, Germany and Spain.

There won't be too many backing them to win the tournament - they're currently rated by BetFair as eighth favourites to lift the trophy - but Rome wasn't built in a day. Mancini's men have taken giant leaps since failing to qualify for Russia, but it's baby steps on the road to becoming one of the world's super powers once again.

Their group stage is somewhat favourable - pairing them with Turkey, Wales and Switzerland - it's the knockouts where their mettle will be tested, and their experience of facing top quality opposition under Mancini is lacking.

Mancini's side are rough around the edges and not ready-made stars, but this summer's competition gives his new generation of players the perfect chance to show how far they have come. What they lack in outstanding individuals they can make up for with Mancini's values of young talent, passion and trust.