![]() What this Italy squad will be, however, is completely united as the Azzurri play their first match since the passing of Gianluca Vialli in January. Mancini not selecting Euro 2020 hero Manuel Locatelli for tactical reasons alongside popular centre-back Gianluca Mancini is a sign there is plenty of depth. There is also positivity about the midfield and defence. In-form wingers Gnonto and Vincenzo Grifo back up the likes of Chiesa, Politano and Domenico Berardi nicely. The most experienced option is West Ham's Gianluca Scamacca - out of favour in east London and still coming back from an injury himself.īehind him in the centre-forward pecking order is 17-year-old Simone Pafundi of Udinese, alongside the uncapped Mateo Retegui of Argentine side Tigre, who has only just decided to switch allegiance to Italy and not pursue a career with the World Cup winners.īut the good news for Italy is their strength in depth out wide. Injuries to first-choice option Ciro Immobile and back-up Giacomo Raspadori has forced Mancini to juggle his options once again. What affects Italy in this international break is a striker problem. Compare that to Gareth Southgate, who has picked 88 England players - but has been in the job for two years longer than his Italian counterpart. The dearth in top-level talent could explain why Mancini has used 96 players since becoming Italy manager five years ago. In some games, there aren't Italian players at all."Īsked about how it affects Thursday's game with England, Mancini added: "It will be a tough game and it will be crucial to start well, but we need players who know these sorts of games." This is the reality and we must do something different. "If you see the three Italian teams left in the Champions League, they have seven or eight Italians combined. "This is a problem we've had for a long time. That's the problem," said he said after picking his squad. "The teams are Italian, but there aren't too many Italian players. Both made the Champions League quarter-finals this month but their success has come at a cost to the national team. Last week, AC Milan named a starting XI without an Italian player for the first time. Napoli are the success story of Italian football this season, but their only regular outfield option from Italy is Matteo Politano - and even he is rotated regularly. Italy manager Roberto Mancini believes it has gone too far. What is not helping Italy's cause is a reliance on foreign talent to improve the Italian game. Federico Chiesa is the main attacking spark up, next in line is Leeds' Wilfried Gnonto, whose stock is still rising at 19. Young players such as Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Zaniolo were all billed as the next generation but they now appear to be false dawns, especially at club level. Leandro Bonucci is the last of that generation at 35 years old, while Marco Veratti and Jorginho are still the country's most successful exports into the rest of Europe. The days of having the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Pirlo in the spine are long gone. What is noticeable is a lack of top-class talent in their ranks. ![]() Of course, Italy's issues run deeper than just a bad luck of the draw. Mancini vs Serie A in the club-country debate Even with a superb record over England - with just one defeat in their last 10 games over the past 25 years - can Italy avoid being the odd one out again? The top two in Group C qualify for Euro 2024 but three do not go into two. A second-place finish would result in a play-off campaign - which again proved too difficult.Īnd the Azzurri are in a tricky group once again with England - who have a near-perfect record in major tournament qualification campaigns - and a plucky opponent in Ukraine, who will likely be everybody's second team in this group. Italy's failure to reach the last two World Cups came about through failing to qualify directly for the tournaments due to having another European heavyweight in their group. No reminders are needed as to how they managed to claim that status. The Italy that wins the Euros in the midst of a 37-game unbeaten run - or the one that fails to qualify for back-to-back World Cups? The Italy that qualifies for the Nations League final or the one gets thrashed by Argentina in the Finalissima? The Italy that beats England 1-0 before the World Cup or the one that loses 5-2 to Germany?Īll this confusion makes it difficult to remember that Italy begin their 2024 European Championship qualification campaign against England on Thursday night as holders of the entire competition. Ahead of every single game in the last few years, you really don’t know which Italy you’re going to get.
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