Well done boys, they had some chances but so did we. We look so hard to play against and for the first time in a long time we have depth great to see Locatelli back and Rovella looked very comfortable at the level on his international debut
No, winning the group means more than that. If you don't qualify for the World Cup as a group winner, you have to go to a playoff as the 2nd place in the group. However, if you don't get second place in WCQ group, you can still go to the playoffs if you won your Nations League group. So, it's a nice back door insurance policy to have.
This is correct. In March's QF, if Italy does finish in first place in this Group Stage, they will play a team that finished in 2nd. But it cannot be France as they were in the same Group. So realistically, Italy's March QF can be against the Oranje, Denmark, Croatia. Outside chance Poland if they get the better of Croatia. To stay ahead of France, Italy must not lose by more than 2 goals on Sunday at the San Siro. (Italy must not have their 1-3 victory in Paris from September bettered).
Cannot believe they are gonna send Belgium to a Relegation Playoff. So many unnecessary matches causing all these ALC's.
Keep in mind Belgium didn't have Jeremy Doku today. Was surprised Belgium's Expected Goals stat was only 0.5 to Italy's 2.6.
the only real chance they had was that header that hit the bar, they had pressure and we were pined back at times but we always had so many bodies in the box to clear. Gigio only really had to make one save from distance. Buongiorno and Di Lorenzo were fantastic at marking and making tackled before a clear chance was ever really able to take place. Coincidence that our first clean sheet comes with Buongiorno starting? Over two games we were the better team no question about it.
Pagelle (Eurosport): 7.5: Di Lorenzo, Tonali, Barella. 7: Buongiorno, Rovella. 6.5: Gigio, Bastoni, Dimarco. 6: Cambiaso, Frattesi, Kean, Udogie. 5.5: Retegui. No Vote: Gatti, Locatelli, Jack.
It really should be this way but it's clear they want Calafiori on and as a result 2 players are sacrificed. Buongiorno out entirely and Bastoni not playing his preferred position. They were there but playing the wrong formation because the CT couldn't see what some jagoffs on a message board could see.
I think in the end Califiori Bastoni Buongiorno will all get plenty of game time for Italy over the next few cycles. Play who is fit and even bring someone in off the bench as you have the extra substitutes these days. It is a great problem to have. Also I think they shift pretty freely when they play together so we see Bastoni on the left at times even with Califiori. Everyone was devastated about Acerbi and Scalvini going down this past spring/summer and now they aren't even in the conversation.
For this cycle all 3 won't be on at the same time because Di Lo is undroppable again. Only an injury will keep Di Lo off and then Calafiori should be switched to the Right side like Motta did a couple of times. Bastoni's positioning should not be tinkered with.
Similiar to Eurosports, here are Sky's Pagelle: 7: Di Lorenzo, Buongiorno, Tonali, Barella. 6.5: Gigio, Bastoni, Frattesi, Rovella, Dimarco. 6: Cambiaso, Udogie, Gatti. 5.5: Retegui, Kean. No Grade: Loca, Jack.
Overall, it was a very good game. Should have finished them earlier. We are still a little loose with the ball in our own half at times but it's much better. You can be sure teams will press us high a lot in big tournaments. We'll have to make them pay. Rovella was really smooth at regista tonight. Very good to have a quality option backing up Ricci. He's been fantastic this year.
Btw, I'll never understand the FIFA rankings. Belgium always seems to be ahead of us no matter how many times we beat them.
Reading how FIFA calculates it, it can be seen. Belgium have outperformed Italy in the last 3 World Cups including a 3rd Place in 2018. Head to head matches don't formulate. We have to be fair here. Does Colombia deserve to be rated lower than Italy? (I'm referring to Results now). Elo Rankings which is probably more accurate and follows Rankings used in chess sees Italy higher than Belgium, but Colombia higher than Italy. (have a feeling Italy will play Colombia or the USA in 2026)
Our Azzurri are going to be very dangerous going forward. Credit to Luciano for adapting not only to the 3-5-2 or 3-5-1-1, but bringing in more youth. He infuriated me this summer but he showed he's capable of learning which is a good thing. We are flooded with great midfielders right now so playing to that strength is key. Of course Retegui and Kean will have to finish more if we want to hoist the World Cup, but for now, we can play with anyone with that midfield. Some other things to improve on: a. I'd like to start playing more of the same midfield each game so they get even more cohesion. b. I want to clean up the loose balls when we are pressed high. We are seeing less of that, but still too much for my liking.
Oh, Belgium probably moved up a spot after b/c we only beat them 1-0. And England probably got more points for beating Greece after losing to them than if they had just beaten Greece twice. This is why I always urge for Italia to take every game seriously. Fifa can and will penalize us for the dumbest stuff.
Watching the game, for me I think it could have been 1-1. But we showed some resolve and a 1-0 win was in no way unjust. I found myself in the second half telling the boys calma, calma! relax! our midfielders and wing backs and Retegui were going a mile a minute, almost to the point where they forgot to retain the ball in simple moments. In such critical moments I think it is ok to put possession first. But still, i think we played a good game. Rovella is a gamer, I want him to stay in the setup. Also at times we do not need to tiki taka out from our own deep end...it is ok to send a few clearances down with sideline. A couple times the boys could not regroup and breathe b/c they tried to ping it out of danger instead of a nice clearance down the width of the field. I'm looking at you Cambiaso.
Elo rankings are definitely the way to go. And the best place for any fan to see a true ranking of nations
SUNDAY, November 17 FS2 UEFA Nations League Italy-France 2:45 pm. Rai Italia - Home Page Serie A Italian Soccer ⚽️ Watch Live Matches on Paramount Plus
Lack of a #10 We all know who is in the running to be the Second Striker behind likely Retegui/Lucca/Scamacca/I'll even add Patrick Cutrone. While Chiesa is not a #10 by definition he can and has this played role. It doesn't suit his best characteristics but he can do it. Chiesa obviously on the outside for now. Pellegrini wears the #7 shirt for Roma but does occassionally play the #10 role. Not sure Italy fans want to go back to the Pellegrini well. Zaccagni? A fine player in his own right and I am probably his biggest fanboy on here but is he the #10 to lead Italy to a deep WC run? On talent level is is clearly Tommaso Baldanzi. I've always been scared shitless of playing against guys that wore their socks low. Only true ballers can get away with doing this. But Roma are a cluster******** right now. Guys like Pellegrini, Berardi are on the outside for now. Berardi likely never to return. Maldini, in the running. Kean, profitting from Palladino doing a great job at viola-merda but he ually plays CF, no? Jack for me has a place on this team as a Second Striker. Fagioli, on technical skill level is probably only second to Baldanzi here but his jekyll and hyde inconsistent play is not trustworthy. Spalletti is giving players a chance to take the shirt just need somebody to make it theirs.