for sure... International football is in a new era.. has been since 2016ish really. There are more quality sides than ever and the big name players are more spread out than ever but even a side like France that is producing ridiculous amount of talent tends to over produce in one department and underproduce in the others. this is the case for all sides. we don't see complete sides anymore where there are multiple top quality options in every position and for 2 or 3 formations. By default Spain is the best team because despite their faults they are the closest thing to a club side because of the way the players learn to play at youth level and don't need to adapt at senior level. On paper the 2024 Spanish side is not nearly as good as some of the dominant sides of the past but that is the modern landscape. Senegal could win the World Cup. Nearly anything is possible now. Though it will probably just be Spain lol
Full attention to Northern Ireland but should Italy get past them, this Welsh guy is on a heater. 7 goals, 4 assists in his last 8 games. pic.twitter.com/7OMqBbvUcd— TheWelshDragon 🏴🐉 (@TheWelshDragon9) December 13, 2025
Kayode continues to put in fantastic defensive numbers for Brentford he's won 5/5 tackles his last two games and is just every where. Savona has also done well at RB for Forrest with another goal but if you look at his numbers closely he's still not really been very effective defensively. He seems to be very passive. Between Kayode Savona Palestra even someone like Zortea if we are playing a back 4 we have to move away from DiLorenzo at RB and for sure RCB. I just wish we lived in a world where we had a manager that knew how to play a back 3 and we could unleash DiMarco and Palestra at the same time. I wonder if Bartesaghi can play RB/RWB? He's been superb on both ends of the field. For what it's worth Palestra has excellent defensive numbers as a RWB. https://www.sofascore.com/football/player/palestra-marco/1397736#tab:season
In all honesty, though I didn't mention him, Gattuso inspires no faith in me and is the main reason for my pessamism. I was 100% behind Mancini taking another crack at the national team. What he did in 2020-21 was remarkable. It didn't last beyond one qualification/tournament cycle, but it was still a great run with a 6th major victory for Italia. Yes, his exit was horrible...but I was ready to forgive lol. He was the clear choice for the squad IMO, and many of us here were hoping for that to happen. I can't think of one poster here that wanted Gattuso....
I can see it now, back line of Di Lorenzo-Mancini- Bastoni, all he needs to do is take one shot and they will be shaking and crumble. Bastoni will be crying after the game they are being criticized harshly.
Once Israel were mathematically eliminated (October) Gattuso really erred by not giving Marco Palestra the start in both matches of the November window. Not even a call up to integrate with the group. Such shortsightness, my God. I'm sure he cannot do worse than Di Lorenzo but how unfair will it be if he has to play in two 1-offs. What a mess.
Lol If Canada beats Italy in the World Cup we should play Gloria but in English— Maria (@TheHomelyBaby) December 5, 2025
@Catenaccio88 Of course another thing to consider. If in these Playoffs, if the opponent(s) play a low block and want to take their chances in PK's, Italy would have Donnarumma who has shown to be exceptional in stopping Pens (Liverpool, twice in EC'20/21).
This is my biggest disappointment. Even before then Gatusso spent two games chasing the goal difference instead of implementing an identity/structure. We almost risked missing the playoffs because we were so open against Israel by way of chasing goals. To be fair these games coming so early in the season meant that all the obvious players that we would like to call if there were games in January were not yet in form be that young players or some veterans that have returned to form. It really would be nice if we had some winter friendlies to try some things out. As it is Gatusso and Buffon will make the rounds watching games for 4 months and will have to get it right in training. It's not like we even have a solid shape/11 to elan back on. He will have to change something significant regardless.
Italy in recent years, do have a very good record in penalty shootouts..I think they've won three out of their last four.. But that wasn't always the case. It has been said, that back in the day (before I started watching football), their record was almost as bad as England and Holland's when it came to shootouts. And for some reason or other, I'm extremely doubtful these playoffs will be decided by pens. Not sure exactly why, I just don't think they're going to go beyond 90mins and extra time. Esp if its an Wales vs Italy final.
Getting to a shootout against Wales would honestly feel like a god send to me...that might be our biggest hope. There is a considerable probability Gigio could take matters into his own hands a la Wembley. The Italia brand still carries the notion that we should get the job done in 90 minutes against Wales home or away, but I actually believe our biggest weapon could be Gigio in a shootout as opposed to winning in 90. It just seems more likely Gigio could win it for us rather than our field players at this point. Wales will have a field day on set pieces, we'd have to survive that nightmare just to get there. If someone offered right that we could skip 120 minutes and go straight to a penalty shootout in wales , I'd take my chances on that over Bastoni defending against set pieces all day long. At the end of the day I want the chances of qualifying in the most capable hands and right now that's Gigio in a shootout, god forbid they can defend the set pieces to get there. The set pieces in Wales will range from "thank god we survived that debacle" to an outright unmitigated disaster. The sooner we can get Bastoni and crew off the field, the better. We either need to score early or often, or get to a shootout. That clown and his defensive teammates are hellbent on vacationing next summer.
Zaniolo looked good yesterday. Le pagelle di Udinese-Napoli 1-0: Zaniolo straripante ... 1 day ago — Nicolò ZANIOLO 7,5 - Prestazione strabordante, quasi dominante nella ripresa. Quando accelera lascia gli avversari fermi. C'è nel primo ( ...
I hope Zaniolo continues to improve, he's stated that his ambition is to return to the NT. If he keeps his head on straight and works hard he'll continue to get better and better.
Stamos, I'm actually not a negative person by nature. I'm generally positive, but I believe in calling out weaknesses so we can attack and address them (rather than pretend they aren't there). I've been highly complimentary of many players. But, after watching Gli Azzurri for well over 40 years, I think I have some perspective. Do I think we'll get through the playoffs? Probably, although the road fixture will be like suffering through the 7th ring of hell. Aside from the fact I'm really down on Italian football in general and how we've developed our youth system and sold out our young talent, I genuinely am concerned with our DEFENSE. The core of a good team is a solid defensive core. I see too many leaky elements in our D (at RB and Bastoni especially). So, I feel like I have to call out that concern. I also have a pet peeve that I can't stand mentally weak players like Scamacca and Zaniolo, so I call them out regularly. They have no place on Gli Azzurri unless I see that they've grown up and don't act like babies at the first sign of adversity.
I'm willing to give Gattuso a chance. Mancini was great at the Euros and the build-up to that, but I felt he abandoned the team and near the end lost the locker room. Reminded me alot of Lippi when he came back for 2010. We wanted to relive the glory days so bad but the ship had sailed... @'Uaglio I'm not disagreeing with you (or Nek Sanalet) nor am I pretending problems don't exist but I think some perspective is needed. I get youre not a Bastoni fan - frankly, I'm on the fence as his weaknesses are becoming more and more of a liability. But everyone is jumping on him right now and its been a crazy shift from not even 2 years ago when he was being regarded as the backbone of this defense. I will say I wholeheartedly agree: defense, in general, is a very big question mark. I have hopes for Leoni but his injury concerns me. I don't see anyone else currently ready to step in.
It's really bad in it's current state. I think anyone following this team closely for a long time is feeling reasonably negative towards it. the talent on paper isn't great but the way national teams are these days it's hard to have a ton of depth in every position for any team really but the thing that is clear that this has been the worst Italian defence in history more or less the last 18 months/two years. And I don't think it's just the personnel it's the team defending as whole and the tactical imbalance that two managers now have not figured out. There are small nations that defend well without big name talent. It's structurally a disaster and it's impossible to be positive about the qualifiers when we have no time to fix it but those one or two games. it's just betting on hope and the opponents also being very bad.
Probably the only two players that are fighting to be on the NT and you want to omit them lol in favor of who? Politano? Orsolini? Raspadori? Bidoni.
March is our world cup. other nations get to look ahead to June and July. For us, we have to fight for our lives in March. I hope the players want to fight. tactics, form, infrastructure....they are all s*** right now, but the players still have the option to fight. The proof will be in the pudding...we'll know right away if they are willing to give everything to qualify. The group can still choose to give everything they have. They've chosen not to give anything far too many times prior to March, and that is the biggest concern for me. Has that source been identified and eliminated? As fans, we have to keep in mind if this current group doesn't want it, they make it painfully obvious that they don't want it. This current generation has made it clear they won't fight if they don't want to, and no amount of shame will motivate them.
| Alla vigilia della finale di Coppa Intercontinentale tra Flamengo e Paris Saint-Germain, Jorginho ha parlato del suo rapporto con la Nazionale, ribadendo un legame ancora forte. Il centrocampista del Flamengo ha spiegato di continuare a lavorare per farsi trovare pronto: «Voglio sempre il bene della Nazionale. Sto bene e sto lavorando molto». Sull’eventuale ritorno in azzurro in vista dei playoff mondiali, Jorginho è stato chiaro: «Io continuo a lavorare per farmi trovare pronto se dovesse servire». Un messaggio diretto anche al CT Gattuso, in un momento cruciale per il percorso dell’Italia verso i Mondiali. Lunedì il Flamengo completerà la preparazione alla finale, mentre il centrocampista guarda al futuro con determinazione e disponibilità verso una nuova chiamata azzurra.
I'm not sure how we can live without Scamacca's one goal in 22 appearances. He really shows up in Azzurro.