Gianluca Scamacca put Italy ahead before Turkey responded through Aral Şimşir. Riccardo Calafiori restored the Azzurri’s lead before Francesco Pio Esposito sealed the victory late on.
Mancini was pleased with the overall performance despite making nine changes to his side, acknowledging that the alterations affected Italy’s fluency.
“Turkey are not that weak, despite the defeat,” Mancini said. “By changing nine players we lost some fluidity, but we could not have done otherwise because we had spent a lot. It was a very positive match.”
The Italy coach believes his team’s development should be judged beyond individual results, with the squad continuing to improve as the Nations League campaign progresses.
“We are happy with how we have improved as a team, regardless of the results,” Mancini said. “The fact that we can compete for qualification is already a great achievement.”
Mancini was also encouraged by the performances of several younger players. He said Alessandro Romano and Vergara need matches of this level to continue raising their standards, while Pio Esposito made a particular impression after scoring Italy’s third.
“Pio has a hunger for goals, to fight, to play,” Mancini said. “He is extraordinary and I think that within two years he can become a centre-forward who can make the team play easily, as Vieri and Toni did.”
Montella had a different perspective on the result. The Turkey coach believed his side had matched Italy for long periods and felt the final score did not fully reflect the balance of the contest.
“Today I think it was an even match,” Montella said. “We were punished by episodes, but we have to get used to playing at these levels.”
Turkey had been without several players who regularly make a difference for their clubs, and Montella was encouraged by the way his team competed against an Italy side with greater depth.
“I am satisfied to have played on equal terms with this Italy,” he said. “I am confident because I saw a Turkey that played with courage, pride and team spirit.”
Montella also rejected the suggestion that his side’s problems were simply an attacking issue.
“If it were a collective problem, the team would not create so much against top-level teams,” he said. “Modern football is made of episodes that change matches and change judgements.”
For Mancini, the victory represented another step forward for an evolving Italy side. For Montella, Turkey’s performance offered encouragement despite another defeat and left him convinced his team can compete at this level.