THEY are reigning champs and have a habit of defying the odds – yet little is expected of this Azzurri side.
At least they qualified, given a nasty recent habit of missing major tournaments.
RexItaly come into Euro 2024 with plenty of question marks[/caption]
But even that was not exactly comfortable as they finished narrowly above Ukraine and well below table-toppers England.
Veteran boss Luciano Spalletti, 65, will have to use all his experience given the lack of quality at his disposal.
Up front, in particular, is an issue with former West Ham flop Gianluca Scamacca likely to start No 9.
Sandro Tonali’s betting suspension hampers them in midfield.
They won it last time but the view back on the Boot is if they make it out of the group, they will have done just fine.
Manager: Luciano Spalletti
The veteran tactician won’t stand for any nonsense.
Spalletti has already clamped down on the time his squad spends on the PlayStation.
But the 65-year-old is no dinosaur tactically and his teams are not to be taken lightly.
APLuciano Spalletti struggled in qualfying[/caption]
Key man: Gianluigi Donnarumma
The only genuine superstar in the squad has had an up-and-down year at Paris Saint-Germain.
But the big man remains elite – as England know only too well from the last final.
Likely line-up
Italy have a solid back three in front of Donnarumma, with width coming from their wing-backs.
Jorginho and Nicolo Barella will be tasked with controlling the centre of the park and getting the ball to Federico Chiesa and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Scamacca and Napoli striker Giacomo Raspadori are two options up front.
The former is a physical threat while Raspadori is two-footed and offers solid technique but has never been a prolific goalscorer.
How they attack
Under Spaletti, we can expect to see an Italian side that are effective and dogged from a defensive perspective but who are also flexible and fun to watch in possession.
They will build from the back using intelligent structures to play through the opposition press.
Italy will typically use Napoli right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzi as a third central defender.
And Federico Dimarco, who plays as a left wing-back, will move higher and come inside.
Dimarco moves into a midfield position from wing-back
Italy are patient and composed and they create patterns that help them to play through pressure.
They are not limited to one style of play.
When the opportunity comes they can attack in a much more direct way.
Federico Chiesa is released to run into space as the midfield progress the ball quickly
As the Italians win possession centrally they often take the high risk option and quickly look for opportunities to release runners wide.
As they progress and attack into the final third we will see Italy shift the ball into wide areas.
They want to create chances to attack the opposition full-back and break into the opposition area.
Zaniolo takes possession wide we see Di Lorenzo make a long run around the outside to provide width
How they defend
Italy are not as deep a defensive side as we have perhaps seen in the past.
Instead they will look to be proactive and modern in the way that they look to press and work out of possession.
Their two wide forwards, who can look to play in a more narrow position, in particular will work and press along with the forward player to disrupt the opposition attack.
Italy press the Ukraine defence high and as a wave
The striker goes first and presses alone and as soon as the opposition play a poor pass we see the second player join in.
When the ball is forced wide the third player then joins and Italy have the opposition pressed in.
When they do move high and look to press in the opposition half we will typically see them press and work in a man-to-man style.
This means they take away passing lanes and options for the opposition players.
Italy press high and the opposition player in possession does not have an easy option to play into
Pressing and marking man to man in this way can be dangerous if the opposition can play through the initial press.
Italy, however, are willing to be aggressive in terms of continuing to man mark when the ball is played through.
Even when the opposition beat the intial press, the Italians work hard to force their rivals backwards.
England pass their way through the initial press but the player receiving the ball is forced to play backwards as they cannot turn
Prediction
Italy struggled in qualifying and face a huge test to get out of their group.
Should they manage to top the pile ahead of Spain, Croatia and Albania, they would face one of the best third-placed teams in the last 16.
Germany would be potential quarter-final opponents with Portugal and the Netherlands potentially lying in wait in the semis.
Finishing second would likely see Italy take on Hungary or Switzerland – providing neither stun Germany – and a potential last-eight clash with England in what would be a fiery grudge match.
Latest odds
Italy are among the favourites to win Euro 2024 despite their poor qualifying campaign.
They are 16-1 with William Hill – behind England, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain.
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