Italy’s recent 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign has seen them struggling after losing 0-2 to Spain on September 2 and one month later having to settle with a surprising and underwhelming 1-1 draw against Macedonia.

The head coach of the Italian national football team, Gian Piero Ventura took some time to talk about his team after his squad could not collect more than 1 point after locking horns with the Macedonian national side and the 69 year old Italian tactician believes that injuries took a big toll on his team.

"We lost some players and lost a certain thread that we had in the first half, in my view. I thought the first half was positive, the second was not, but when you have nothing left in the tank, that's what you get. I think a lack of fitness levels made a big difference and when that drops, the sharpness goes, so we could not develop anything more. In football, when you don't propose anything in attack for an entire half, it can well be that you concede”

"We hope that in the meantime four or five of the players we're missing can return. We need to get the players back, play some real football and get the situation back on track." Italy’s Gian Piero Ventura said.

Gian Piero Ventura was selected as the head coach of the Italian national side on June of 2016 as he replaced Antonio Conte and he has the task of returning Italy to their former glory days which has not been seen in a significantly long period of time as they could not advance through the group stages during the 2 latest editions of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2014.

Even though Piero Ventura has an extensive managerial career which dates back to 1976 when he was at the helm of the Sampdoria youth team but he has never truly taking charge of a top club as his previous club was Torino and to take such a big jump is a risky thing to do but the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) opted to take the gamble and now that’s left is to see how Gian Piero Ventura performs at the helm of one of the biggest national football teams in the world.