Italy meet Venezuela in the first friendly in the USA tonight, so here are three things to look out for at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
The Azzurri are preparing for Euro 2024 with two friendly games in the USA. The first one will be played tonight in Fort Lauderdale, so what should we expect from Luciano Spalletti and his men?
Tactics
Even if it’s only a friendly, tonight’s match will be particularly meaningful as Spalletti is expected to use a new system for the first time. The ex-Napoli boss will predictably drop a four-man defence in favour of a 3-4-2-1 formation, which better suits the players’ characteristics, especially in defence.
Italy’s best defender, Alessandro Bastoni, is expected to start on the bench, making room for Alessandro Buongiorno, Giorgio Scalvini and Matteo Darmian.
It’s a key change for the Azzurri, who have been playing with a 4-3-3 system in Spalletti’s first six games in charge. It will be interesting to see the team’s reaction but most of the players are accustomed to 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 systems. Inter, Torino, Atalanta and Juventus in particular regularly use a three-man defence.
“Tactics are fluid, liquid, it is no longer such a rigid form. There is the possibility of changing system during a match based on the movements,” Spalletti explained at a press conference on Monday.
“I want to evaluate based on the characteristics of who is playing. If we have the ability to shift, we become more unpredictable.
“If you are balanced, then a three-man defence is less open to the counter-attack. Either way, we have two on the wings, two in the mid-spaces and a centre-forward.”
Attack
Spalletti has called up seven strikers, including three centre-forwards. Genoa star Mateo Retegui is expected to start, making his second appearance under Spalletti. The Argentine-born striker has netted twice in four appearances with the Azzurri. Lorenzo Lucca is another option, but he’s expected to start on the bench.
The Udinese forward could make his debut in the second half and, on paper, he’s similar to Retegui in terms of tactics and approach. They are both classic centre forwards even if Lucca, scorer of eight goals in 31 appearances this term, is physically stronger than Retegui. The third option is Giacomo Raspadori who has started four games from six under Spalletti. The diminutive Napoli striker would play as a false 9 under Spalletti offering different tactical solutions to the coach.
It will be interesting to see who starts behind Retegui. The latest updates from the USA suggest Federico Chiesa and Davide Frattesi are expected to play as attacking midfielders. The position Chiesa will cover will be particularly intrguing, especially because he has had highs and lows when playing in the middle at Juventus this season rather than on the left wing.
Chiesa often moves wide on the left in Turin, but he and Allegri have never really been on the same page in terms of tactics. Many see the ex-Fiorentina star as the only difference-maker for the Azzurri in attack, so his position on the pitch and his contribution in the final third against Venezuela, will be a crucial aspect in tonight’s match.
“Federico Chiesa will have to adapt in the five channels on the pitch,” Spalletti said at a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
Full-backs
Last but not least, we should keep a close eye on full-backs tonight. Although Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Federico Dimarco are expected to be the starters on the wings at the Euros, Spalletti is likely to give a chance to Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso and Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie against Venezuela.
Both players are accustomed to playing in a four or five-man midfield. This is exactly the same role Cambiaso is covering at Juventus, while Udogie played as a left wing-back for many years at Udinese before switching to a four-man defence under Ange Postecoglou in North London this term.
Warning: Don’t expect them to just run up and down the wings because Spalletti will expect much more from them. As many modern full-backs do in today’s football, Cambiaso and Udogie will often cut inside the pitch to help the Azzurri in the build-up. This is something Cambiaso does very often at Juventus, exchanging position with USMNT star Weston McKennie. Well, Spalletti will want to see more of the same on the left and right-hand sides of the pitch to see if Cambiaso and Udogie can challenge Di Lorenzo and Dimarco for a starting spot at the Euros.
“Players like Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Federico Dimarco, Destiny Udogie and Andrea Cambiaso represent the new frontier of European football,” Spalletti said earlier this week.
“They don’t just run straight when attacking, they take detours and deviations, cutting inside and out. If a teammate is in a wider position, they go inside. It’s about reading the position based on the spaces that open up.”