Italy's failure to defend their EURO title does not mean Luciano Spalletti will end his tenure. However, the tifosi cannot help but be disappointed with the Azzurri's lackluster performance.
EURO 2024 is a chance for Italy to show progress before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, a tournament they must qualify for after a decade of absence. However, Spalletti's team "put into reverse gear". Donnarumma and his teammates only won 1 match against Albania, drew with Croatia and lost weakly to Spain and Switzerland.
In addition, the defense and attack failed to show their best form. Forwards like Gianluca Scamacca, Mateo Retegui and Giacomo Raspadori failed to score. In defense, the Azzurri did not show the steel shield they had 3 years ago.
Italy have suffered far worse defeats than the Swiss defeat. Defeats like the one against North Macedonia in 2022 are nightmare memories. However, the way they have performed at this year's tournament has brought a much greater sadness.
Spalletti himself blamed the excessive preparation between the Albania and Spain games for the exhaustion of the players, and he therefore prioritized freshness for the team. Against Switzerland, he also made six changes to the starting lineup, using players such as Mancini, Cristante, El Shaarawy and Fagioli for the first time in this tournament.
However, Spalletti's team continued to show the same sluggishness as in the defeat to Spain. The opponent's tempo was too high for Italy to match or maintain. A lack of speed in defence also hampered the implementation of the high pressing style that the Azzurri captain wanted.
At EURO 2024, Luciano Spalletti will rely on Inter Milan players as the core. Although they performed well last season, this may cause them to lose motivation after winning the championship too soon with the Nerazzurri.
Italy have also been hit hard by injuries. Most notably, Destiny Udogie is set to be replaced by Federico Dimarco at left-back. Other stars such as Francesco Acerbi, Nicolo Zaniolo and Domenico Berardi are also ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
Fitness issues were one of the main reasons, but tactics also played a big part in the Azzurri's defeat. Spalletti was annoyed by comments about his lack of a fixed squad. In fact, the systems deployed by Italy at EURO 2024 were tested in qualifying and friendlies before the tournament. However, Spalletti never played with the same squad. Each time he played, it was like the first time, lacking connection and a clear style of play.
The only player to be praised was captain Gianluigi Donnarumma, who saved Italy from a worse defeat, with the PSG goalkeeper also feeling the Azzurri lacked inspiration in this tournament.
EURO 2020 was an exception as Italy maintained a record 38-match unbeaten run. Roberto Mancini knows his best XI, while Spalletti does not.
“We haven’t found a clear squad. Maybe I need time to understand the players better,” Spalletti admitted.
Luciano Spalletti will remain with the Italian national team for the foreseeable future after the president of the Italian Football Federation - Gabriele Gavrina affirmed that he still has full faith in the 65-year-old strategist. However, the journey for this captain to help the Azzurri regain their golden age will probably be very long.
Source: https://laodong.vn/bong-da-quoc-te/spalletti-co-dang-bi-chi-trich-sau-that-bai-cua-tuyen-italy-tai-euro-2024-1359939.ldo
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