Roberto Mancini has returned for a second spell as Italy head coach, taking over from Gennaro Gattuso, who departed in April, as the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) moves to rebuild the national team. The change follows the Azzurri's failure to qualify for the World Cup for an unprecedented third consecutive time, a run of results that has prompted a wholesale rethink of how the federation manages the men's senior side.

Alongside Mancini's reappointment, the FIGC has restructured its technical hierarchy by naming Claudio Ranieri as technical director, replacing Paolo Maldini in that post. The pairing of a returning head coach with an experienced figure overseeing broader technical strategy is intended to give Italy a more coherent leadership structure as it attempts to recover from its worst qualifying record in decades.