Euro 2020: Italia - Svizzera

I heard Berardi might be dealing with a knock so Chiesa will replace him?

 

I've always been a fan of Verratti even when he infuriates me with dangerous dribbling in his own half or with his failure to be more direct at times. I know Falc hates him.

Locatelli on the other hand gives us size and some great vision and longer more incisive passes. With Jorginho being on the smaller side and not a slower footed athlete, I always worry about putting him in a 3 man midfield without much bite around him. Locatelli and Barella offer size and dynamic ball-winning skills that compliment Jorginho's game well.

In short, I'm not sure we will be a better team with Verratti in the lineup, especially against big athletic midfields. For him to be successful, the wingers are really going to have to come back a lot and help out. We'll see.

 

No, Falc turned a leaf. Now he posts pictures of him with thumbs up but he still likes to call him the little French guy.

 

I would tend to agree with this assessment, especially with the NT. Verratti might benefit from a change in formation (which will not happen now, but could be considered for WC qualifying and beyond) that allows him to play more centrally and a bit further up the pitch, leaving him less susceptible to picking up needless yellow cards as he so often does. He is tricky with the ball at his feet and can play an incisive ball. I think he definitely finds the deeper midfield spot more comfortable, but he typically tends to settle for a side ways pass, rather push the team forward with a pass through the lines. If I’m not mistaken, he played as a sort of Trequartista in his earlier days with Pescara. I’m not suggesting he take on the Trequartista role with the NT, but he might find a pleasant home in front of Locatelli, Jorginho, and Barella that would allow him to focus less on the defensive side of things and more on his trickery, dribbling, and ball playing ability in the attacking third.

 

I think Verratti is best in a 5 man midfield closer to the defense. He's not direct enough (or a good enough finisher) to play trequartista effectively in my opinion. There is no doubt his skill is immense. He can operate in tight spaces like few midfielders I've seen. I just think at times he loves and trusts his feet too much and it leads to bad turnovers.

In the end, it is a nice luxury to have won a game 3-0 with players like Verratti and Chiesa on the bench. One thing that hasn't been talked enough about this tournament are the 5 subs teams have. Teams can get quite fresh in the second half if they have depth...which we do. That could be all the difference in the world.

 

Yes, I think we agree that he doesn’t have the characteristics to play the Trequartista role at this level, but in an attempt to force him to play more directly (especially with his passing), I think he would benefit in a starting position that was further up the pitch. In the Regista role, I feel like we would see much of the same. Side to side passing, needless card accumulation, and dribbling while facing his own net with his back to our attackers, which like you said, leads to careless turnovers.

Either way, I agree that it is a good problem to have. For the purposes of this tournament, he will ultimately take Locatelli’s starting spot in Mancini’s 4-3-3, unless Locatelli puts in 9-10 caliber performances in the next two matches.

 

Stop looking for negatives. Gumball pheromones are rubbing off on you.

 

I don't expect much, probably a draw is most likely. Italy is cautious in any match, nevermind when they lead the group.

 

Unfortunate it wasn't a tie today, but Italy would still have the better goal differential than Wales with a draw.

 

Why do we care what others in the group are doing? Take care of what you can take care of and win the game today. Italy has been burned one too many times with this type of mentality. Forza e coraggio!

 

Senza Paura!

 

One thing you should have learned by now is that even the Italian teams that go far in these cups never make it easy on themselves. I am pretty confident the Turkey game will be the last decisive victory we have.

 

One thing we all have learned by now is that a lot of fans are misers and whingers. Stop being a bitch!

 

Real shame. Felt like that was going to open the dam

 

Can't get excited by goals anymore. VAR usually finds a way to disallow them.

 

Lets see whats wrong with this goal

 

Good show.

Chiellini showed in the first half why he is both a strength and a liability. This is why months ago I thought Mancini should have dropped him. Hopefully nothing serious.

Sometimes we try to get too cute with the passing. We should have had at least 2-3 more shots on target

As good as Berardi was, its turning into a game where Chiesa would really shine.

 

Absolutely. Brilliant run to set up the goal. At least you guys aren't grasping at straws to praise the guy this time.

 

Very encouraging stuff over the first three halves of this tournament. Spinazzola continues to be immense down the left.

 

Spinazzola has completely handled Mbabu

 

Great first half. Immobile missed a sitter and Insigne should have done better on some dangerous opportunities. But, I'll take the lead. We need to keep slicing them open. The midfield has been dominant.

Locatelli was unbelievable on the goal. He ONE-TIMED a ball out of the air with his left foot and sent it 30 yards perfectly to Berardi on the wing. Berardi made an awesome run and Locatelli sprinted all out for 50 yards to tap it in.

Just beautiful.