Whilst they came into Euro 2024 as the defending champions, there weren’t many who gave Italy a chance of retaining the trophy, and instead, they were written off in many quarters as one of those teams that could underperform.
This was an understandable judgement to make, given that head coach Luciano Spalletti has only been in his post since August 2023 and so has not had long to get his ideas across, and the general feeling was that this tournament might have come just too soon for them to really make an impact.
However, Italian football has always been about creating headlines and achieving the seemingly unattainable, with Napoli ending their long wait for a Serie A title (stretching back to 1990) in the 2022/23 season and Italy’s triumph at Wembley Stadium three years ago (which saw them become European champions for the first time since 1968) among the stories to have put the spotlight on Europe’s tenth-largest country.
With that in mind, perhaps it should have been expected that Tuesday night’s final group stage game against Croatia would end in the dramatic circumstances that it did, with a late equaliser secured with the final touch of the ball securing Italy’s place in the knockout rounds at their opponents’ expense.
Nevertheless, there is no denying that Spalletti’s team have not been at their best so far, with a lot that they have done well but plenty that they still need to work on.
This tactical analysis and team-based scout report will highlight what needs attention if they are to continue defying expectations.
Italys Lack of attacking threat
When it comes to their attacking play, it has been abundantly clear what Spalletti wants to see from his side, with their tactics based around being expansive whenever they have the ball and manipulating their opposition into leaving spaces open.
Whilst that has led to some success, there have been plenty of moments when they could have done better, and ensuring that they are as clinical as possible when they do get into dangerous areas will be vital if they are to go deep into the competition.
A lot of what has let them down has, in many ways, come down to the overall speed of Italy’s build-up play.
They have the ability to find each other with precise passes but lack pace when doing so, which has led to many of their offensive moves being brought to a premature end.
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