Rebuilding The Azzurri for Euro 2024 and beyond

Or Monza

 

Scamacca had a bad game and he gets the immobile treatment, Tamy Abraham did f all today too, he was praised all season long.

 

I echo these sentiments exactly. I'm not a big Pessina fan and there are about 5 other midfielders I would go with before he starts an Azzurri game right now but the guy was an animal today. Yes he's not the most technically skilled but that work rate was phenomenal.

People can rag on Scamacca for missing his one chance and yes he should have at least put that on goal but he links up play very well and tracks back defensively. His skill is underrated imo but he needs to be more aggressive against those crosses. We can say what we want about Immobile but he would have buried one of those chances today. Scamacca just needs to have that absolute striker's hunger for goal.

I too was disappointed for Espoisto..he's clearly not ready for this level but at least Mancini has shown faith in him. That;s not to say he cannot get to this level either...same for Cancielleri who I thought looked overmatched against Germany. These guys need time at Serie A and European football if possible. On contrast Gatti looked pretty damn comfortable as he grew into the game making several headed clearances and dealing with the English press all night. His positioning was a little suspect on the biggest English chance where Sterling fluffed it but i thought overall he looked like a good CB prospect. He needs to play a ton next year in Serie A wheteher at Juve or on loan. Hell he should be playing for Juve over Rugani imo

Pellegrini is an absolute must in this lineup but would prefer him to play is Roma role in the middle behind the strikers. He creates so many great chances. Locatelli looked like the Loca from last years Euros. An absolute gem of a long ball that nearly lead to Tonali's goal. Our midfield is absolutely loaded right now even if Jorginho never plays again (although I think Veratti should still be in the setup)

All in all I can't be dissapinted i this game other than missing out on Tonali's goal ..we really should have one that game with our B squad. This just shows me again that Mancini is the right coach for this job. If not for two flubbed PK's we would be talking about him like he was Sacchi or Lippi (2006 Lippi) The truth is he has an incredible record and we are almost never outclassed in a game.

 

Scamacca is Italy's best striking prospect in a long time. Big strong, skilled great with hold up and linking. Just needs a little more hunger for goal. I think he will get there.

 

UEFA Nations League: England mired in basement after 0-0 tie with Italy

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  • by Kieran Canning ,

 

It's amazing that people here and on Football Italia want Pessina off the team. We are talking about a guy who is just 25 years old and can clearly bring something both nationally and domestically to Italy. His work rate and tenacity are much needed.

The same thing when I hear people say Berardi should not be on this team as well (or Cristante). I watched a decent amount of Sassuolo this year, and Scamacca can thank Domenico for more than half his goals. Service is important. And Berardi and Scamacca playing together is something I'm sure Mancini will explore.

Italy fans are hilarious. A player that has a great domestic season but has one bad game for the Azzurri should be banished forever...then a young player who plays ten good minutes in a glorified friendly should start every game. Some of the opinions/criticism on this board and elsewhere are so absurd.

 

I've been busy but I have a few remarks on players being brought up:

1. Scamacca does have a lot of talent and physical tools. He doesn't always seem the strongest mentally to me and he needs to work a lot more on his left foot. I'm not sold on him yet, but I'm not throwing him out either.

2. Pessina is an excellent and VERY smart player. He's the type of player every team needs. Sure, he is not a winger. But he can definitely play central midfield and yes he does excel at making box to box runs.

3. Gianluca Mancini is disappointing to me. Someone earlier said it best...he can be amazing for 85 minutes but then he has brain farts at some point in the game. He does this at Roma all the time. It's very costly at times. The great defenders of the game are more consistent than this, and until he cleans those mistakes up, he's not going to get to the elite level.

Kudos to Mancini for turning this around and rolling the dice. He really didn't have a lot to lose, and so he's taking chances and playing younger players (even Serie B or other leagues). He's basically raising his middle finger to Serie A clubs and saying Fck It! If you don't scout properly and give talent a chance, I will. For that, he deserves a lot of credit despite his terrible managing during qualifying.

 

I

I have liked what Scamacca has brought to the team with his hold up/link up play and his general fight without a bunch of drama/theatrics. But two things make me nervous about him. He has a habit of doing these blind floating balls to switch the side of play; inevitably some of these will be intercepted by the opponent and create dangerous counter attacks. The second is he does not have a left foot. Honestly I've never seen any player that has reached his level and not have the ability to play with both feet. When defenders figure this out, he will be defended accordingly which will reduce his attacking ability. Not giving up on him, but I was pretty disappointed when I realized he has no left foot.

I was ready to drop Pessina as his recent performances were really poor, but I thought he looked really strong against England. But he showed his psychological weakness when he did not take a shot when given acres of space at the top of the box. I believe he got in his own head about shooting again since he previously had shot 3-4 times without scoring that game.

 

Yup, Scamacca has no left foot at all. It is odd at this level because he's immensely talented otherwise (with his head and right foot). I tell my 12 yr old son all the time...practice practice practice with your left foot. You have to be able to use it or they will neutralize you

 

I'm hearing either a 3-4-3 or a 4-3-3 tonight.

Donnarumma; Luiz Felipe, G. Mancini, Bastoni; Calabria, Barella, Cristante, Spinazzola; Politano, Raspadori, Gnonto.

I'm not a big fan of a 3-4-3 tonight and I'm not a bit believer in Felipe. G. Mancini makes too many mistakes as we've talked about before. That 3-4-3 basically has 5 defenders and 2 holding midfielders. It's asking the front 3 to do all the work. I feel like it would give up too much possession.

I'd rather have

-------Politano Raspa Gnonto
-------Barella Cristante Frattesi
Spina Mancini Bastoni Calabria
------------Donnarumma

Raspa as the false nine in a 4-3-3 will be interesting to watch too.

 

That's because no one gives a shit about it in Italy either. The game articles were so far down on the Gazzetta homepage that I had to scroll down below basketball. I still think it's important because getting young players time against elite competition a) is huge for their development and b) puts them in the spotlight for summer acquisitions to bigger clubs which is huge for their future as well.

 

Pellegrini should be starting.

 

Felipe over Scalvini? why

 

Donnarumma
Calabria
Mancini
Bastoni
Spinazzola
Frattesi
Cristante
Barella
Politano
Raspadori
Gnonto

Looks like Mancini is after a win here, not a bad lineup. I'd like to see Gatti again honestly.

 

Commentators off to a good start "it's been 10 years since Italy last beat Germany"...wtf, so when was the last time Germany beat Italy then ass face? Penalties don't count, game technically still ends in a tie.

 

Down already

 

This match will further illustrate how bad England is and how far we have fallen.

 

Sassuolo!

 

I expect us to lose 3-0 or 4-0. On the road, confidence is still relatively low, 5th game in what...basically 2 weeks. I think we get lapped in this game and then September is a scramble to avoid relegation

 

oh God not Meret. I'd rather have us hang Buffon's cadaver from the crossbar than put in Meret.

Carnesecchi and Plizarri for the national team, please.