Italy will go into the playoffs for the 2018 World Cup after finishing runners-up to Spain in UEFA Group G and it had been reported in the Italian media that the group of players were plotting against Ventura, who replaced Antonio Conte as coach after Euro 2016.

Buffon denied that was the case and said the meeting took place with Ventura's consent.

"I would like to clarify one thing," Buffon said at the news conference ahead of Italy's final World Cup qualifier against Albania on Monday night. "Something that happens everywhere when you go through certain moments is that a group of the squad will get together so that it can lead you back onto the right track and can herald more good results.

"All of this, just to be clear, took place with the consent of the coach and all of his staff. There was nothing to hide. What we wanted to say among ourselves was intended to shake us up and to support the coach on and off the field.

"This was an important point which I needed to raise in the interests of transparency. We need to see answers on the field now and I hope we can rediscover a team with a strong identity."

Speaking to RAI television after the news conference, Buffon again said there is "no insurgency against the coach," adding that the reports he has read "are falsities that do not do anybody any good."

He added: "There are moments when certain players need to send out signals, on and off the field, and this is one."

Italian FA president Carlo Tavecchio called on the media to get behind national team.

"We're not rounding up on the coach, at least nobody within the federation is," he told Il Corriere dello Sport. "When the Italian national anthem sounds, it gives goosebumps to the players, the coaches, directors and also to journalists and, at that moment, we are all Italian and part of the national team.

"If we don't go to the World Cup, it is a problem for everybody, including you. When giving judgements, we must not forget that there is no such thing as an easy game nowadays. Compared to the past, things have evened off incredibly with the weaker nations replaced by sides with excellent coaches and professional structures."

Italy need to beat Albania in Tirana on Monday night to ensure they are seeded in the draw for the playoffs, which take place next month.

The last time Italy failed to qualify for a World Cup was in 1958. Since lifting the trophy in Germany in 2006, they have failed to proceed beyond the group stage at both the 2010 and 2014 tournaments.