Italy vs Albania: Why Azzurri will struggle in Euro 2024 opener
Italy have scored more than once in just two of their last five games, which doesn't bode well against Albania...
Not since Greece in 2008 have the holders gone into a European Championship with lower expectations than Italy this summer. They may have been crowned kings of the continent just three years ago, but the Azzurri are not among the leading contenders to lift the trophy this time around.
There has been considerable change since Euro 2020 (held in 2021). Most obviously, Roberto Mancini has been replaced by Luciano Spalletti after the former resigned to take on a lucrative gig with Saudi Arabia. Spalletti has only been in charge for 10 months.
The playing squad has undergone an evolution too. Of the XI that started the Euro 2020 final against England, six - Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Emerson Palmieri, Marco Verratti, Lorenzo Insigne and Ciro Immobile - are not even in the squad for Germany.
Five of the six players that came off the bench at Wembley that night - Domenico Berardi, Andrea Belotti, Federico Bernardeschi, Alessandro Florenzi and Manuel Locatelli - are also absent.
There is not a great deal of experience within the group Spalletti has chosen. 15 members of the 26-man squad have fewer than 20 senior caps to their name. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Matteo Darmian, Jorginho and Stephan El Shaarawy are the only players aged 30 or over.
The relative lack of experience is in part down to Spalletti’s preferences. He could have called up the likes of Immobile, Verratti and Florenzi, but the former Napoli boss instead opted for a definitive shift towards youth.
Yet while that decision could pay off in the medium term, it leaves Italy with an uninspiring selection for this tournament. Spalletti, you feel, is the most important figure in Italy’s travelling party, as Fabio Capello opined this week.
"The top player is on the bench, and as a former coach, I can ensure that it is a feat to shape a national team in a short time," the former England and Russia boss said. "Spalletti was excellent in qualifying for the Euros and he’s tried to pass on his ideas to the team. If the players follow him and show more courage, it will be possible to dream."
It will be particularly interesting to see how Italy function going forward. Spalletti has always been an attack-minded manager and his Napoli side were wonderful to watch on their way to the Serie A title in 2022/23. But the tools at his disposal with the national team are not as exciting as those which he could call upon at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Federico Chiesa, one of Italy’s best players at the last Euros, will arrive in Germany on the back of a poor season at club level and amid rumours that Juventus are willing to sell him. With Chiesa on the left, the favourite to start on the right of Spalletti’s’ 3-4-3 formation is Davide Frattesi, who made just six Serie A starts for Inter last term.
Gianluca Scamacca looks to have won the battle with Mateo Retegui for the centre-forward berth. Scamacca was criticised by Spalletti in March for, among other things, spending too much time playing Call of Duty. The manager was impressed with his display in the 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday, though, and Scamacca’s 19 goals for Atalanta in 2023/24 should help him get the nod over Retegui against Albania on Saturday.
In their opening game, Italy will need to demonstrate they have the guile and invention to break down a deep and well-organised backline. Albania only conceded four goals in qualifying, a defensive record that only Portugal and France bettered. We should not necessarily expect a comfortable night for Spalletti’s side at Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park.
Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and only narrowly edged out Ukraine in their Euro 2024 qualification group. The Azzurri have upset the odds to lift silverware before. Doing so this summer would be one of their greatest feats yet.
