Italy will be underdogs again when Euro 2024 starts in June, but Luciano Spalletti has insisted he wants to win the trophy with the Azzurri.
La Nazionale were not the favourite to win the Euros three years ago, yet Roberto Mancini’s men emerged victorious in a remarkable campaign that saw them beat Austria, Belgium, Spain and ultimately England in the knock-out round, claiming the second continental title in history.
Fans hoped for a new Reinassance after beating the Three Lions on penalty at Wembley Stadium, but La Nazionale incredibly fell short again less than a year later, failing to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row.
This partially explains why the Azzurri are not among the favourites to win the 2024 Euros next summer despite being defending champions. France and England seem the better equipped to win the tournament staged in Germany, but it would be a massive mistake to rule out the Azzurri.
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The Azzurri will debut against Albania in Dortmund on June 15, then they’ll meet Croatia in Gelsenkirchen on June 20 and lastly, Croatia in Leipzig on June 24.
In his most recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy CT Spalletti has reiterated that he wants to win in Germany, but why aren’t the Azzurri among the favourites?
Aside from the still painful World Cup fiasco under Spalletti’s predecessor Mancini, the Azzurri seem pretty weak in the attacking department where the Certaldo-born tactician hasn’t yet found a reliable centre striker.
Gianluca Scamacca, Giacomo Raspadori, Ciro Immobile and Mateo Retegui haven’t been scoring consistently in 2023-24 and have had too many highs and lows. As of today, Raspadori seems to have the highest chance of starting for the Azzurri in Germany, as he was included in Italy’s starting XI four times in six games under Spalletti.
The ex-Napoli boss secured three wins, two draws and one loss – against England – in his first six matches in charge of La Nazionale and although the early signs are promising – Italy have been playing attacking football, with a high pressing and short vertical passes – the lack of a consistent goal scorer affects the Azzurri in the bookmakers’ eyes.
At the same time, however, Italy can rely on some of the best midfielders in the tournament with Nicolò Barella, Davide Frattesi and Lorenzo Pellegrini and have a solid defence led by Alessandro Bastoni and Francesco Acerbi, with Atalanta talent Giorgio Scalvini ready to step in.
After all, Italy have never really been a favourite at the start of any tournament, and every time they lifted silverware, they did it as underdogs. Although many don’t see the Azzurri becoming European champions for the second time in a row, Spalletti and his players will be eager to prove doubters wrong again this summer.