Luciano Spalletti feels tomorrow’s Belgium clash is ‘fundamental for our future’ and wants Italy to play with courage, as he drops some hints over the starting XI in the Nations League.
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Azzurri are top of their Nations League group following the 3-1 victory away to France and 2-1 win over Israel, so a success tomorrow would be another huge leap towards the knockout rounds of the tournament.
“I saw the same determination as last month, in fact even more so, and that gives me hope for the future, especially in the way the players are friends and want to help each other out,” said Spalletti in his press conference.
“I feel that I am surrounded by lads who want to show what they can do. This is a fundamental match for our future, I expect it to be approached with the same courage I saw in the last two games. My sensations are positive.”
The change to a three-man defence has been consolidated following the EURO 2024 flop, but while Mateo Retegui is widely expected to start upfront, will he be supported by Lorenzo Pellegrini or Giacomo Raspadori?
“It changes little, we want players who can take on many different roles. I can confirm that Pellegrini will start tomorrow, though.”
Spalletti expects challenge from Belgium
Belgium also struggled at EURO 2024 and are trying to reboot with new players, especially after losing Kevin de Bruyne, Alexis Saelemaekers and Amadou Onana to injury, while Romelu Lukaku is unavailable to regain full fitness at Napoli.
“They have players in the best club sides in Europe. The biggest danger is their pace in attack and in terms of taking opponents on, they have among the best in the world. I know the coach well, he is very good, Belgium are sixth in the FIFA ranking. We need to be focused and recognise we are up against a strong rival,” continued Spalletti.
“Perhaps they don’t form a team unit in quite the same way, but in terms of individual players, they have so much quality and physical strength.”
Although it is played at the Stadio Olimpico, the arena is nowhere near sold out, as fans are still unprepared to put their faith in Spalletti’s side.
“I don’t think 40,000 is a small crowd. The objective is not to cancel what happened in the Euros, but to give our best and become a great team. The Euros is in the past, we’ve already talked about the disappointment we gave our fans.”
Riccardo Calafiori was one of the only Azzurri who impressed at EURO 2024 and he has continued to flourish at Arsenal.
“Calafiori is so good at making sure he is in the right place at the right time. His courage helped, he takes on responsibility and has maturity even if he is young, already knew how to play in more advanced roles and is therefore more complete,” explained Spalletti.
“The fact he plays in the Premier League is useful, because having those who know the atmosphere of different leagues can help us know what we’re going into.”
Spalletti was asked why he had left out players like Mattia Zaccagni, Matteo Politano and Nicolò Rovella, and was it linked to them not suiting the 3-5-2 formation?
“Zaccagni asked to be left out, as he had an issue to resolve. There are another two midfielders who are here and have similar characteristics, so we preferred them, but Rovella was in the long-list.
“When it comes to Politano, we continue to track him and know everything, including perhaps things you do not know.
“We’ve chosen this system because we have many strong players who have this system at club level and are suited to it, so that’s a logical approach.”
There are four new faces in Spalletti’s squad, including Monza attacking midfielder Daniel Maldini.
“I said he is a player whose characteristics we lack, he has both physical strength and the ability to turn quickly in tight spaces. He is an elegant player, but also has more than that, including a good shot from distance. Clearly, he has to grow in terms of courage and character, but I won’t have doubts introducing him if he is needed.”