Asolutely. I agree 100%. There has been a problem for a while in producing creative players from the Italian player development system. It's also incorrect to suggest the national youth teams - especially the under 21s which is really under 23s to fit the Olympic age-limit - are not important routes into the NT. The bulk of NT players in any country come via that route. The only exceptions are those who tend to develop later like Luca Toni, but they are never key players for an excellent NT.
I think people are making too many excuses: Italy prioritised this competition and reaching the semi-finals - and with it qualification for Tokyo 2020 - was seen as the minimum acceptable result. We should also put it into the conext of no Italians team - club or national - winning anything since Inter won the club WC in 2010. I would be suprised if Italy has suffered such a long title-drought in the past or certainly since 1970.
I don't understand how anyone can watch this side and think we have no talent. They were, by a wide margin, superior to everyone they've played so far, playing good football. The issue, simply, was that they were not clinical against Poland. I am very optimistic about the future of Italian football for the first time in a very long time.
TBH we were completely dominant against Poland. We won our other two games of the group. I really don't feel like we played at all poorly if this is the end of our tournament.
Denmark 2-0 Serbia with half an hour or so left, one more goal for the Danes and they will overtake Italy as the best runner-up pending the completion of Group C tomorrow. This Italy squad was overrated and doesn't deserve a semi-final place based on their performances. Six goals in three games is an unsatusfactory return.
Agree with gumbacicc. Italy may go out in the group stage but still looked like the best team in the group and definitely top 3 of the tournament. Very good group of kids coming up supported by the u-20's and u-19's. For the first time in a very long time, the future is looking bright.
I'd say a Romania victory is way more likely, but the problem is they know if they play draw it will send them both through which scares me. I hope they just play it out and both try and win.
Maybe Romania will score by accident lol. I mean they are probably going to play for a draw but I can't see either team just kicking the ball back and forth to one another for the full 90 minutes lol. This was a disadvantage being in Group A for Italy.
Is that a rhetorical question, because I doubt they are even seriously considering that. I'd want to qualify.
Especially three vs a Spanish side that was "2 levels above us" It's pretty clear by now that you're just a troll. Wasn't England's u21 team supposed to light up this tournament anyhow?
And that's literally all the trolls needed to hang onto their claims that players like Chiesa or Barella are not talented enough, because if they were men of steel with a cape and could fly then, like Messi, they'd pick this team up and ensure that no matter what, they'd win all the time.
I was initially responding to this: Which is just an unnecessarily verbose way of saying "We's needed a finish dos 2 sitters vs Poland!" All the rest of the doom gloom sky falling routine from those two trolls is just an exercise in mental masturbation at this point.