Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti should reconfirm the starting line-up that defeated France in September in the Nations League fixture against Belgium on Thursday, as he is willing to trust a group of players that showed plenty of improvements of late after last summer’s fiasco at Euro 2024.
Spalletti’s attempts to lower his squad’s average age and simplify his tactical demands have paid off in recent games, helping the Azzurri bounce back from their struggles at the European Championship in Germany, which is why the former Napoli manager wants to stick with his recent tweaks, starting from the back three.
Italy: why Spalletti is sticking with his latest line-up and tactical tweaks
As reported by Sky Sport Italia, Spalletti should field Italy in a 3-5-1-1 system against Belgium, with Pellegrini playing as a number 10 behind lone striker Retegui as was the case in their 3-1 win over France.
The rest of the Azzurri’s starting line-up should also be the same as their last Nations League fixture in Paris, with Frattesi, Ricci and Tonali composing the midfield trio, while Cambiaso and Dimarco will once again start on the right and left flank, respectively.
Di Lorenzo, Bastoni and Arsenal’s Calafiori will play in defence in front of Donnarumma, and according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Spalletti’s decision to switch to a back-three recently is one of the coach’s most significant calls after his attempts to field a four-man rearguard and perform a system of rotations on the pitch at Euro 2024 proved ‘complicated to explain’ and problematic.
Spalletti’s latest call-up also confirmed his will to lower Italy’s average age, with Di Lorenzo being the only over 30 player in the squad, while 20-year-old Niccolò Pisilli and 22-year-old Daniel Maldini are only the last youngsters to join the group.