Roberto Mancini will give the Azzurri squad a much needed makeover following their World Cup play-off disaster and three players in particular look to be key.
Italy suffered a horrific 1-0 loss to North Macedonia on Thursday last week, knocking them out of the running for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. It’s the second consecutive World Cup that the Azzurri have missed, a disastrous state of affairs that highlights the need for change.
Mancini, should he stay on, has the chance now to overhaul the Italy squad and start giving some of the younger talents more regular playing time ahead of Euro 2024. Three in particular look especially exciting.
1 – Alessandro Bastoni
The 22-year-old Inter centre back is a physically imposing and tactically aware defender, standing at 1.9m tall and possessing a good burst of pace when needed. He has been a starter under Simone Inzaghi this season and has not disappointed.
Bastoni is the obvious choice to rejuvenate the centre back role, with veterans like Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci clearly ready to take a more secondary role. His maturity and minimal injury history suggest he’ll be a regular feature in the Azzurri for years to come.
2 – Sandro Tonali
The 21-year-old Milan man is a strong and incredibly intelligent defensive midfielder, known for his quality off-the-ball positioning and accurate long passes. Whilst he looks a little like Andrea Pirlo, he plays more like Gennaro Gattuso as he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty.
Tonali still needs a little more time to develop and mature, but Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup means that he has a couple of years to continue his growth before the next major tournament.
3 – Gianluca Scamacca
The 23-year-old Sassuolo striker stands tall at 1.95m but don’t assume that he’s an immobile player, as Scamacca is known for being agile and quick on his feet. He is frequently compared to Milan veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in part due to his impressive technical abilities.
Scamacca is a versatile forward able to hold up play, run the channels, drop deep and wait on the last man for the perfect pass, depending on what the situation requires. Whilst it’s a little too early to say, it’s exciting to imagine Scamacca being the clinical forward that Italy have so desperately needed for years.
These guys should have played the last game
Milan should own 2 of the 3 by the end of summer.
Inter might own 2 of the 3 by end of the summer.
Juve might own 2 of the 3 by the end of the summer.
When u compare Scamacca attributes with Immobile how the heck did Mancini prefer him as his No. striker
I bet Mancini is the only National coach who would have chosen Immobile over Scamacca
Inter might own 3 of the 3 in the summer.
Such a pathetic and myopic take on Tonali as pundits constantly try to force young, talented Italian midfielders into the ridiculous false binary boxes of either they are like “Pirlo” or “Gattuso”. Gattuso was a workhorse who was absolutely awful with the ball. Tonali has both defensive and offensive talents. If we have to compare him to any past players I would say he is much more like a Steven Gerrard than a Pirlo or Gattuso
5 games to late Mancini
Interesting that he did not wake up until after the exit!
Well after seeing the latest comments I demand that Milan own 7 of the 3 by the end of summer.
I do want Scamacca though. Please and thanks, Elliot vulture fund.
Mancini knows were he got it wrong but he should be honest and admit it publicly
Bien, agreed… I’d like to hear that from him too… It’s refreshing when we all admit when we’ve made mistakes… We could all appreciate that and I think it will ease some of the naysayers.
Roma might own 0 of 3 by the end of summer
Tonali is very exciting and has been huge sitting deep in Milan’s midfield. He’s not like Gattuso, he balances physicality with creativity very well and it’s just the beginning! I’m surprised he and Calabria (?!) weren’t called up, but Calabrias backup, Florenzi was lol
Italy will bounce back with back, but the problem lies with Italian coaches starting from the youth setup. They must learn from Brazil, spain, Germany. Italy should hire more foreign managers. Italian managers focus too much on defending. The stadions are not as full as in Germany, Spain or England.