As Italy takes on North Macedonia in the World Cup play-offs semi-finals, Pietro Mingoia looks at the three tactical keys for the Azzurri at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.
The Azzurri have one last chance to get a spot at Qatar 2022 through the World Cup play-offs. They host North Macedonia in Palermo on Thursday and we break down the tactical side that could be vital in Roberto Mancini’s preparation. Italy will most likely line up in their preferred 4-3-3 formation with a slightly deeper midfielder and two inverted wingers who will look to come inside the pitch.
Selection dilemma
The biggest question mark concerns who will be the centre back pairing as Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are not fully fit and could be protected to be ready for the next game if victorious. The immediate replacements have usually been Alessandro Bastoni or Francesco Acerbi as it has only ever been one of Bonucci or Chiellini missing. This could make it more difficult to play both Acerbi and Bastoni as they are both left-footed, which could be a slight disruption in the build up phase for the Azzurri as neither is comfortable opening up the passes to their right-hand side.
Potentially it could be Gianluca Mancini to play alongside Acerbi or Bastoni to bring the balance but he is very inexperienced at this level, so would it be too much of a risk?
Italy boss Mancini doesn’t see ‘favourites’ in World Cup play-offs
Aggressive Approach
Expect Italy to be in control of the possession of the ball and North Macedonia be a tight unit trying to keep the gaps close and protect the middle of the pitch. So, how do Italy break them down? When a team sit back with all eleven players spaces are limited so Italy will need to be aggressive with their passing. It will be crucial to move the ball quickly from side to side, trying to open up a space when Macedonian players are moving across. If the ball is being moved too slowly, it is very easy for the defending team to protect themselves.
I would play Lorenzo Pellegrini instead of Nicolo Barella as he provides more of an attacking threat from a distance and has a more natural capability to get into the box, which is the opposite of Jorginho and Verratti. If Italy are not decisive and aggressive with their approach, time will pass and they will grow frustrated, as will the crowd, which will increase the mental pressure on the players.
An area to exploit will be the wide areas as North Macedonia will prefer to protect the central zone. Italy need to make the most of this by creating 2 vs 1 situations with the full-backs overlapping Insigne and Berardi naturally moving inside onto their stronger foot to open up the space for the full-backs. Just like during the Euros, Italy must create a numerical advantage to get crosses in the box for the attacking players.
Potential Problems
As we highlighted, the game’s landscape will be Italy dominating possession, with North Macedonia happy to sit behind the ball in a tight solid shape defending first and foremost and counter-attacking if the opportunity arises. Is the biggest trap Italy could fall into is because they will have so much of the ball that they may become complacent and lazy in their positioning and defensive duties.
This could give North Macedonia more space than they expect. If they try to counter-attack with a good number of players, they could catch the Italian players out of position. Another problem would be to manage the atmosphere and be able to deal with negativity if an early goal isn’t scored. The Azzurri cannot let the emotions of the fans enter their minds which is extremely difficult. They need to believe in the game plan to execute it correctly and break down the most likely 10 players behind the ball with the quick passing and taking risks to exploit any space available extremely quickly before the Macedonian players recover into their shape. Total domination is what is expected by the fans, but it is not easy to break down a team that sits behind the ball and ‘parks the bus’, as they say.
How are you gonna say to play Pellegrini over Barella? Barella, Veratti and Pellegrini or Sensi should be starting together over that loser Jorginho.
Carletto, I like Barella but his form for Italy in the last 12 months has not been great. Except for that goal against Belgium he has looked tired, low on energy and mistake prone. Pellegrini, is a good replacement. The Jorghino and Verratti coupling always concerns me as they are similar players and it gives us less of a midfield goal threat than say if we had Pellegrini, Locatelli, Sensi or Pessina playing, who are all goalscoring mids.
Knowing that Macedonia’s only hope is to play defense and play the counter….. we should tactically do the same. Open them up so we can strike with quickness and precision. Just my humble opinion.
I’d be putting Pellegrini in for sure…
WIthout our most influential players Chiesa and Spina, we are too laboured, a lack of width and pace. He had a chance to bring Calabria who offers the energy on the flank needed yet goes with Florenzi….very strange indeed.
Sadly a negative Mancini, an italian team lacking quality in attack with a heavily weighted midefield of players playing tiky taky. Worryiong times.
Why is Jorginho playing he is the blame of all Italys problems
it’s beyond me how a joao pedro and belotti, who have spent a life time fighting relegation, can be considered good enough for the national team