There we have it. The obligatory mistake by Gigio that leads to a goal or a chance. Come on, Gigio. Let's hear this excuse. Every ********ing match he is good for a howler. Get ********ed.
Nobody, and I mean, nobody around him, put pressure on him, made contact with him, challenged the header, and this clown does that. Incredible.
Cambiaso, another braindead moment gets Booked. Keep it up. Against a top 20 NT you pay for it. Against #123 not so much.
Is Gattuso planning on using Dimarco against Israel? Because Inzaghi has given the template how to get the best from Dimarco on a short week yet he's still on. Boh.
The Table doesn't lie and is accurate based on what all teams have shown. Not because Italy started their Qualifiers later. We know this now.
game should have been 4 or 5 -0 but its 3-1 ..we know that goal difference is gone but it would be nice to have a more definitive performance. some positives. there is a strong group but how to make the pieces fit together isn't so obvious. I think we may need to think about playing a 433 in the next round and drop one of the CFs. 352 is of course always there but if you want to use Chiesa Orsolini Cambiaghi etc 433 is the obvious way to go.
Kean-Retegui-Esposito, poi papera di Gigio: l'Italia vince in Estonia, ma il primo posto resta un miraggio Calcio: tutte le notizie I gol dei tre attaccanti regalano la terza vittoria consecutiva a Gattuso da ct azzurro, però la Norvegia mantiene sei punti (e numerose reti) di vantaggio. I playoff restano lo scenario più verosimile per andare al Mondiale Estonia-Italia 1-3: gol di Kean, Retegui, Pio Esposito e Sappinen | Gazzetta.it
Its true but Norway have been maybe the best team in qualifying in all of europe. If you look at all the tables across Europe Italy has done well enough to qualify directly . It's a bit unlucky but playoffs it is. I just hope we avoid Turkey in the playoffs because they are looking strong again. The other teams we would face not so much.
Ft. 3 points is what matters. But I can help to point out the negatives here. It was a lineup that was there to score and they didn’t do a lot of that. The GD strategy is over and done with. We need to be building a real lineup that can face good teams. We learned nothing today. The subs were nonsensical and the play completely collapsed. Just based on today, the game vs. Israel is going to be a tough one. Especially if we field a similar lineup. I can’t help but feel that Gattuso is going to stumble hard at some point. Just hope he does after we qualify (God willing)
What the hell happened to us after the break (even before the subs). We went like looking like Norway in the 1st half to Estonia in the 2nd half.
Hope kean injury not serious. 3 1 pretty crap to be honest. Missed a penalty, raspadori should have scored second half and donnarumma howler. We never score enough goals ever. First half was good we score the penalty its 3 0 at half time. Second half was rubbish we ran out of steam, if donnarumma doesn't make that howler I think we may have got another goal after that we ran out of steam. We cant keep a clean sheet to save our lives. Norway won 5 0 today with Israel if we win on Tuesday with Israel we wont win by much. If we make the playoffs I think the team we really want to avoid is whoever finishes second between Denmark and Scotland in that group I think that is probably the toughest team we could face.
the reality is for us that we have to win 3 playoff games to get to the world cup we have to beat Israel then win the subsequent two eliminators. It is not an easy task but we will likely have the better team in every game. I will judge Gatusso from the Israel game onwards. I think we take for granted a bit that he came in trying to score goals an he achieved just that. Let us remember Spalletti was struggling much more against smaller sides. This was not as good as his 5-0 victory against Estonia but it was a result that wouldn't be out of place from any Italy side in history really. What Norway is doing is abnormal and there is nothing anyone can do about it. "Not since 1949 had an Italy coach overseen at least three goals in his first three games at the helm, not to mention three victories."
Italy vs Israel is going to be like a final game. Even a tie would be a good result table wise. Then we could field a B team vs Moldova and Norway. No Bastoni or Kean in that game. It'll be interesting to see who Gattuso plays. His formations were all over the place, no he was not playing a 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-3. It was always changing. Our best play was in the first half and it was like a 3-3-2-2, lol.
with no Kean I would just go 433 ... maybe use Cristante instead of Locatelli if you want him t sit deep and almost play as a 3rd centre back but I don't love that. ---------Cambiaghi--------Retegui-----------Orsolini ---------------------Tonali-------------Barella -------------------------------Locatelli -----Spinazola-----Calafiori------Mancini----Di Lorenzo the other option is a 352 with Pio and Retegui which isnt the worst idea --------------------Pio----------Retegui Di Marco-----Tonali--------Barella----Spinazolla --------------------------Cristante -----------Calafiori-----Gabbia----Mancini
I'm still not optimistic about Italy's chances of making the final tournament and it will depend on who they draw during the playoff round. Hopefully, they draw a lesser opponent but even then, as we've seen the last two WCQ cycles, no one is a pushover any longer.
It's because this group of players extremely individualistic and just see no cause to be united. It's as if they are uncoachable and just want to return to their clubs. When the formation is constantly shifting, it is rarely intentional and has to do with a lack of discipline, focus and unity. Many of these players were too young to have witnessed the glorious days of Calcio. To them its not a memory, a strong emotion like many of us here, to many of these players it carries no significance. If we fail to qualify, it won't be Gattuso or Spalletti or whatever other tactical excuses people will come up with. It will be on these players and no one else. Period.
Italy Manager, Rino Gattuso, on Pio Esposito: "He deserves everything. You see a kid this age, with little experience, who goes for every ball with determination, fighting for it with his life. He defends and runs like a midfielder, he has incredible qualities. When he shields the ball and holds it up to distribute it, he rarely makes mistakes. There's not much more to say about him, he's a very serious guy, he makes himself loved, he certainly doesn't lose his head. I'm betting on him for the future, I'm sure of him. He has to continue, it's only with work that he can improve. Discipline, desire, good manners, and respect are fundamental things. Now it's up to us to give him the chances and it's up to him to put in the effort." @SkySport
The Israel game isn’t really that important. If/when we beat Moldova, we lock up 2nd regardless. Time to start building the ideal lineup for the playoffs. Here’s mine: Chiesa – Kean – Retegui Tonali – Ricci – Barella Dimarco – Bastoni – Calafiori – Cambiaso Donnarumma