World Courant
Italy – Key euro statistics
European Championship appearances: 10
Euro titles: 2
Finest outcome: winners (1968, 2020)
Euro document: W21 D18 L6
Objectives scored: 52
Largest win: 3-0 (in opposition to Turkey and in opposition to Switzerland in Euro 2020)
Participant to observe: Federico Dimarco
World rating: ninth
Group luminaires:
June 15: Italy vs. Albania (BVB Stadium, Dortmund, 9:00 PM native/7:00 GMT) June 20: Spain vs. Italy (Area AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 9:00 PM native/7:00 GMT) June 24: Croatia vs. Italy (Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, 9pm native/7pm GMT)
Here is easy methods to observe our Euro 2024 protection: UEFA Euro 2024 on Al Jazeera
Italy arrives on the European Championship as defending champions, however the title has no status; it has been step by step eroding since that unbelievable summer time night at Wembley, London, in 2021.
Lower than a 12 months after their European Championship crown, the Azzurri had been confronted with the ignominy of lacking the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after a shocking injury-time purpose noticed them lose the play-off semi-final to soccer minnows North Macedonia.
Their Euro 2024 qualifying marketing campaign was equally fraught.
After their first two qualifying matches – a loss to England and a win over Malta – Italy had been rocked by the resignation of supervisor Roberto Mancini after greater than 5 years in workplace.
He was changed by Luciano Spalletti, whose first sport in cost was a 1-1 draw, which additionally occurred to be in opposition to their 2022 nemesis, North Macedonia. With only one win of their first three video games, qualification for Euro 2024 all of the sudden seemed precarious.
Due to a run of three wins in 4 video games, Italy went into the ultimate group match in opposition to Ukraine realizing that in the event that they misplaced they’d attain the play-offs. An exciting goalless draw secured direct passage to the European Championship due to their superior head-to-head document.
Wager it went flawed
Along with their qualifying issues, the Italian squad’s preparations had been disrupted by a playing scandal that noticed police go to the nationwide workforce’s Coverciano coaching heart to query Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo forward of the October qualifiers. The duo subsequently left the camp and Tonali was later handed a ten-month ban by the Italian Soccer Federation.
Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was additionally handed a seven-month ban after being discovered responsible within the investigation, however was named in Italy’s remaining 26-man squad for Euro 2024.
His inclusion is indicative of Spalletti’s lack of attacking choices.
Zaniolo and striker Domenico Berardi had been dominated out of the match because of damage, whereas Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne are now not taking part in their membership soccer in Europe and have fallen out of nationwide favour.
Accidents have hampered Federico Chiesa’s progress, with the 26-year-old Juventus ahead but to recapture the shape that lifted his spirits on the 2020 European Championship.
Gianluca Scamacca, who has scored 19 targets for Europa League winners Atalanta this season, is predicted to guide the frontline however has scored simply as soon as for Italy in his 15 appearances.
Giacomo Raspadori is the opposite notable possibility obtainable to Spalletti, however he has solely scored 12 targets within the final two seasons.
Sandro Tonali’s 10-month ban for his half in a playing scandal has added to Italy’s qualification issues for Euro 2024 (Lee Smith/Reuters)
Protection is the perfect type of assault
This all factors in the direction of a facet that will likely be constructed round defence. It is no shock that the Azzurri don’t have any scarcity of expertise on this space; their preliminary 30-man roster consists of 11 eleven defenders.
Of those eleven, 4 had been from Inter Milan – earlier than Francesco Acerbi’s late withdrawal because of damage – and given the Nerazzurri’s parsimonious protection this 12 months, the remaining three Inter defenders are all prone to begin in Germany.
Inter’s 22 targets in Serie A this season are the bottom of any membership in Europe’s prime 5 leagues. The feat was achieved by taking part in a back-three. So replicating a system with a gaggle of defenders already snug taking part in in it nearly looks like a no brainer for Spalletti’s nationwide workforce on the 2024 Euros.
The supervisor fielded a three-man protection for the primary time in his tenure within the March 2024 friendlies in opposition to Venezuela and Ecuador, with Italy successful each. The pattern measurement is small, however the ceiling could also be excessive.
A backline of Alessandro Bastoni and Alessandro Boungiorni – Acerbi’s seemingly substitute – with Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian at full-back is, on paper, probably the greatest defenses on the 2024 Euros.
However will that be sufficient to take them deep into the match?
Spalletti admitted in an interview with Sky Italia that there are different nations which are at the next degree than Italy, however backed his workforce to compete with them.
“Our purpose is to return from Germany and listen to the Italians say: ‘We’re happy with you,’” he mentioned.
Italian Matteo Darmian (L) and Federico Dimarco might want to strengthen Italy’s protection if the reigning champions are to retain their title at Euro 2024 (Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters)
Discovering himself in a tricky group that features Spain, Croatia and Albania, even a quarter-final end might go a good distance in serving to Spalletti obtain this purpose.
If the Italians can pull off an unlikely match win, they’ll be a part of Germany and Spain because the document three-time European champions.
Italy’s remaining squad for Euro 2024
Captain: Gianluigi Donnarumma
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris St. Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham Hotspur)
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma)
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Hellas Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
You possibly can observe the motion on Al Jazeera’s devoted Euro 2024 match web page with all of the match builds and reside textual content commentary, and keep updated with the group standings and real-time match outcomes and fixtures.
Staff preview: Can Italy repeat as European champions at Euro 2024? | UEFA Euro 2024 information
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