Gianluigi Donnarumma admits he had ‘some work to do’ in the 1-0 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina caused by poor Italian back-passes, but they will continue aiming to ‘play out from the back.’
Davide Frattesi scored the only goal of the game by volleying in a Federico Chiesa cross on 38 minutes, but while the Bosnian goalkeeper had a few saves to make, so did Donnarumma.
Worryingly, most of the chances he had to deal with were created by poor Italian back-passes, almost caught out by Riccardo Calafiori and Federico Dimarco.
“There was some work to do, but we saw some of what we’ve been doing in training. We are ready to go to Germany fired up, we are all very happy and can’t wait to get started,” Donnarumma told Sky Sport Italia.
Playing out from the back in the Spalletti style does have its risks and drawbacks, but the goalkeeper has been working on playing the ball with his feet, something he used to struggle with before PSG.
“Occasionally we can hit it long, but essentially our approach is to play out from the back, to play good football, and that is something the coach has always looked for. There might be a few errors, but we have time to whittle down those issues and it will pay off in the end.”
Donnarumma one of the Italy veterans
Jorginho and Nicolò Fagioli started together in a double playmaker system this evening, as Inter midfielder Nicolò Barella is still struggling with a muscular problem.
“You could see some good combinations, good passing channels, I think the coach will be pleased with the test. We have to keep working, I saw a good Italy tonight.”
Michael Folorunsho made his senior Italy debut, while Calafiori and Raoul Bellanova had their first starts.
“They are all ready, very humble, hard workers and that will take us to great results. The new lads settled in really well. Us oldies have to help them out, but they have started well and are very talented.”
Donnarumma is one of the few remaining players from the EURO 2020 triumph.
“It is a younger squad than that time, but we bonded well and the team spirit is something that really helps Italy stand out in these tournaments.”
Leaving out Locatelli and Orsolini will have its consequences. Not that Bellanova does not deserve the call-up, but honestly, is he so much better than Orsolini? Or think of his impact to Bologna‘s success compared that of Folorunsho’s impact to Verona? Seriously?