Another thing I will worry about is injuries. Calaifori and Kean have multiple times got injured in the practices before the games, man this shit better not happen again in March. I would take it easy on a lot of them especially those two.
Spalletti was good in the Nations League and that run was better than anything since Euro 2021 but he was pushing and pushing for a style of play that only further exposed a fragile defensive group. It's tricky but we are in a spot where we need a humble manager who will let the team build some defensive solidity even if we struggle to score but the incentive in these qualifiers is to play all out and open. Gatusso should have parked the bus for an ugly win in the second half but he wanted a statement win. We needed someone like Allegri but still you risk not qualifying that way through lack of chances created so we are really in a lose lose situation. If the defence can't handle a team that goes for it and the offence can't create without exposing the defence we are simply unbalanced. We have some good players but they don't really fit together as a cohesive team. And the better defenders are never fit long enough to build chemistry.
Their first qualification to a tournament this century and they carry on like this Good luck in the qualifiers lil bro😘 pic.twitter.com/lgL8kJYzqU— Luk (@LucasSvar) November 16, 2025
I honestly believe and I am almost 100% certain, that the problem with Spalletti was a psychological one. I believe that what was happening on the training pitch was working extremely well, but when they hit the pitch for the match, there came moments of complete mental collapse. It was psychological. He was never the main problem. I know most here don't want to bear this, but he is no fool. He knows football better than any of us here and so does Gattuso. There is an obvious problem with what happens on training and the players mental state during the matches. There are these complete lapses of concentration and panic that sets in and it is obvious to see. I disagree about parking the bus. This team can't park the bus in defense of Gattuso. They will still leak goals because they collapse under set pieces and pressure. So I understand why he would try to control the match. I agree that the team is poorly balanced. It begins with the defense. We don't have a point of reference. Unlike the BBC of juventus that knew each other so well they could predict each other's movement with their eyes closed. We have a very serious problem.
Say what you will about Mancini but he has scored in the previous 2 matches and through 45 seemed to get Haaland off his game. I believe this is who Haaland was yelling at for much of the 1H. He handled the 1v1 poorly but others were worse. Anyhow. Gattuso has Bonucci in his ear. If Gattuso is too blind to see any mistakes by the D-core you would think Bonucci would speak up. They need to do their due diligence when reviewing this match.
Italy won’t be competitive again till the team is full of kids from the many poor immigrant families in Italy.
We seem to have a defense problem. And a big reason for that is that Bastoni seems to need more time. I think he's falling into that traditional Italian issue of central defenders taking awhile to reach their potential (Barzagli, Acerbi, Bonucci to a degree.. even Cannavaro wasnt at his peak until 32) I'm not giving up on him yet but he needs time. Leoni might fall into this category as well, depending how well he recovers. Question is, who do we rely on back there? Does Gattuso get on his knees to beg Acerbi back to the fold and apologize for the bald moron before him? Do we play Calafiore there, even though he's better suited as a LB in a back-4? And do we consider going to a back-4? Gattuso prefers it and frankly, we don't seem to have 3 CB's we can rely on.
What I fear, is that this is not the coaches. It is not Spalletti nor Gattuso. We are seeing the same thing happen over and over again. This is a psychological problem and the playoffs will be the worst of it. The pressure will be much higher than this and they go in having just been trashed by the first decent side they play for the second time in a row in our own backyard. By a second coach both by a 3 goal margin. There has been no improvement. The issue remains, this team is an unbalanced mess that collapses under fear. Also, for those saying we may get an easier side. We had a stronger side fail to beat North Macedonia. For the playoffs, we need to have players with more grinta rather than technical skill. We need Tonali, Moise Kean, Calafiori and Chiesa to all be well. They are the only hope.
Yes spot on I agree 100% ...it's a mind game ..something is seriously wrong. We needed Acerbi to be a few years younger so he could babysit Bastoni into being a leader the way Barzagli did for Bonnucci. On the talent front a consequence of not enough Italian players playing at a high level is that we are unbalanced and have 4 or 5 quality players that could play LB LCB and no one to play CB RCB and RB... I think the players don't trust each other and are just hoping goals don't go in because its hard to score in the sport.
Can you imagine this group against ireland. They'd pss themselves the moment Ireland started fighting.
We can't rely on the defense. We will have to control the game and outscore our opponents in the playoffs. You can have Allegri here, and they would still leak in goals from set pieces. To rely on anyone in defense is suicide at this point. We must hold possession and have Kean up front with a killer instinct and need Chiesa too. We will have to go all out attack. We can't even defend against Israel.
the players are making comments that the 3rd goal annoys them the most. WTF? Di Lo: "Italy can learn from this". Get f'n lost dude
it comes to a point as a fan and follower, what is best for italy? Drag their way trough the playoffs and sleepwalk through the World cup just like the Euros? Or get humiliated again and hope that is the wake up call for mass overhaul? Sad
And once again like when they lost 3-2 to Estonia, they got a red card in the beginning of the game. So frankly it doesn't matter to me, each game is different. Norway is better than Italy in every way. We dominated the first half but could only score 1 goal. They dominated the 2nd half and put away 4. It's that easy for them. Nothing will change if we keep these group of players and this coach. There are so many better Italian coaches than Gattuso and a good 5-6 better players that need to be incorporated into this group that won't happen in the World Cup. I look forward to a future after that as I've already accepted the present.
Well. I don't see it that way. It's not like Italy didn't have a lot to say about how 3 of Norway's goals were scored. When have we ever seen Bastoni do THAT? Never. Let's see Norway and the aforementioned England at the World Cup during an American and Mexican summer or the humidity coming off the Great Lakes. They will wilt. Italy's slower pace football will advantagous. Get Italy to the WC and they will outperform them both. Anybody feel free to hold me to it. Don't care.
If it was me, I would look at these players for the playoffs: Acerbi, Scalvini, Coppola, Ahanor. But it won't happen. Leoni next year after the World Cup too.
Whatever issue it is. Both should put their differences aside and step up. I am Italian and the problem with Italy is that it's greatest strength is ironically it's greatest weakness too. In that we Italians are incredibly individualistic. The perfect example of this in Football is Roberto Baggio, he struggled with so many coaches because he was a threat to them in the sense that they wanted all the credit for winning and making it all about them and their tactics. We don't teach and develop player skill as much as we drill tactics into them from a young age. Because it is all about strenghetining the individual, in this case the tactician wants all the credit. This is the reason why we still have some of the best coaches in the world, but our players struggle. Back then when the game was slower, this was easier to win more on tactics, but the modern game is just too quick and chaotic that a rigid style of play and tactical discipline on its own will not save you. Add to the fact we have very few of our youth starting in Seria A clubs, it is no surprise how we ended up in this situation. It will not change unfortunately even if we don't qualify. The culture is extremely individualistic.