Building an Azzurri squad for 2022

Switzerland only beat them 1-0.
And when we beat them 2-0, Immobile did score, but from the penalty mark.

 

Game has really slowed down

 

I expect Italy to go to sleep for the rest of this game. We will probably get one more, but it should be a slow dull affair in the second half.

 

Not sure. The young guys want to show to Mancini what they're capable of. They will probably keep trying. And like I said, after our two draws, and with Switzerland having two games in hand, it's important to increase our goal differential.

 

Having Kean on the left is so different than Insigne. He's nowhere near as skilled as Lorenzo, but his speed is a nightmare for defenses. Speed does kill.

Raspadori has been tremendous as well. Tons of movement, good touches, nice passes, and created 2 goals. He also should have had a second goal but his jersey was ripped off (no call).

 

I will be shocked if Italy wins 8-0 or in that range. Maybe we get two more, but that should be about it. Hopefully NI can hold the Swiss to a draw. 0-0 at halftime. That would be huge….

 

We should be pumping as many goals as possible past Lithuania. Goal differential could be huge in a tiebreak scenario.

 

Bernardeschi is wasting attacks. I never liked this guy.

 

He has two assists. Playing well. With Berna you always get some good and some bad, but he’s taking his man on and creating space with his dribbling. Offense mostly going through him on the right.

 

Ireland and swiss are tied up, hope it stays that way

 

Ireland Swiss drew.

 

You were right. Apparently Switzerland drew! So now we're back to being in good shape to win the group! With better goal differential we'd just need to beat Northern Ireland and draw with Switzerland.

 

Our goal differential now seats at 8 more than the Swiss. If we beat Northern Ireland necessarily we'll have at least one more. That's 9. So, the Swiss have two games in hand, and then one against us, and one more. They'd need to need to win all other 3 games by at least 3-0 to catch us in both points and goals (in case we win our last game against NI). So it now looks like all we need is a draw with the Swiss in our second game with them as long as we beat Northern Ireland. So a draw with Switzerland wouldn't be horrible but it would make of the last game away at Northern Ireland a must win one. If we beat Switzerland though, then we're practically in regardless of other results thanks to at least a 10-goal advantage; the Swiss would need to win all three other games about 3-0, and we'd need to lose to Northern Ireland too, for the Swiss to advance; a very unlikely combination of results.

So, it's simple.

We beat Switzerland, we're in.

We draw with Switzerland and beat Northern Ireland, we're in.

We could miss out if: we lose to Switzerland, or we draw with Switzerland, lose to Northern Ireland, and Switzerland win all their other 3 games by 3 or more goals.

 

I told you guys Switz would drop more points...

 

Nations league semi next at home, looking forward to that one.

 

well done

 

A very classy performance tonight and the dynamism of Raspadori and Kean is a big bonus, hopefully in the future too.

 

Yes, it was Lithuania, but they have not been pounded like that too often. The difference in the attack tonight was that Raspadori was all over the place. He was the best player on the field. He'd come back and help the midfield but also attack the box. He's 10x more skilled than Ciro so he didn't have wasted touches on the ball. He's not the poacher Ciro is (yet), but he's much more dangerous of a striker based on how Italy plays.

Kean is a huge change of pace. His strength and speed off the left wing are very problematic for defenses. Insigne is much more skilled than he is, but Insigne can't threaten a D with pace the way Kean does. The Lithuania D was really stretched trying to cover him. It opened up a lot of space for others.

 

Italia-Lituania, le pagelle di CM: Bernardeschi ispira ...

 

Raspadori was very good, but I thought Pessina and Berna were the two best players tonight. When Pessina is a 6th or 7th choice midfielder, you know how incredible a squad Italy have in the middle

 

totally agree. Pessina for a relatively inexperienced NT guy is just so calm and effective on the ball. I definitely want to see more of him instead of Canadian Cris.

 

37 games unbeaten. only 11 goals conceeded.

 

Berna's assist to Kean was wonderful. He had a good night. But, I always walk away from his performances wanting more. He still has his bad touches here and there and he still fails to EVER cut to his right and use his right foot. He's very predictable and against good defenses that's a problem.

I'm glad you guys brought up Pessina because he was outstanding again. He's always in the right spot at the right time. He's such a smart smart player. Plus, he's got some nice skill and a great motor. Unbelievable depth we have in midfield.

Bastoni didn't have much to do, but he made a really nice recovery play in the second half. Calabria though really impressed me on the left wing. For a right back, he looks REALLY comfortable there. He took people on constantly and used his left foot well when he had too. I'd put Calabria ahead of Emerson at this point (as we wait for Spina to come back).

 

Yep, I'm happy that Davide plays for us, Milan.

 

I simply love this moment! LOL