Giorgio Chiellini makes his feelings clear on Robert Mancini after Italy's humiliation

Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini has backed manager Roberto Mancin i to continue as manager despite the nation’s humiliating World Cup qualifying exit.

The European champions were dumped out of the newly formed play-off setup at the semi-final stage, after they were stunned by relative minnows North Macedonia in Palermo on Thursday night. And just eight months on from their crowning moment at Wembley, questions are now being asked about the direction of the national team.

The hosts dominated the entire match, spurning chance after chance, before Aleksandar Trajkovski popped up in the second minute of injury time with an arrowed drive into Gianluigi Donnarumma’s bottom corner.

Elimination ensures the Azzurri will miss the World Cup for the second successive time, piling the pressure on Roberto Mancini, who less than a year ago looked almost untouchable. After their Euro 2020 final triumph over England, ex-Manchester City boss Mancini was handed a new bumper deal, ensuring he would be in charge until 2026.

But the Italian has now been forced to respond to speculation that his four-year stint could be coming to an end. "We will see. Now I feel too disappointed to speak about my future, we will see," Mancini told Rai Sport in the minutes after the full-time whistle. "I’m sure this team has a great future. I’m supporting these players now more than ever."

And Chiellini, who lifted the European Championship back in July, has also been forced to address rumours of his own international retirement, but made time to back the under-fire boss, hoping he will remain in charge moving forward.

"We're hugely disappointed. We played well but a goal was missing. I'm proud of my teammates. We're devastated. I hope that Mancini will