The penultimate matchday of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League group stage saw Italy knock Belgium out of the tournament by beating them 1-0. The Azzurri’s victory also ensured that they would be in the driver’s seat of Group A2 heading into the final matchday; a draw in their upcoming home match against France would clinch first place in the group and allow them to avoid a tougher quarterfinal match-up against another first-placed team.
A match that could realistically have swung either way was decided early on via Sandro Tonali’s goal in the 11th minute. The Newcastle midfielder took advantage of some horrendous defensive play by Belgium to score his first career goal in international play.
Italy certainly haven’t had the best run of form in international tournaments as of late. Their Euro 2020 victory now appears to be an obvious outlier; since then they’ve failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, then have been knocked out of Euro 2024 in the round of 16. Even before all of this, Italy missed out on the 2018 World Cup as well.
By the time the 2026 World Cup in North America begins, it will have been 20 years since the last time Italy advanced beyond the group stage of a World Cup. However, if the signs they have shown thus far in this season’s Nations League are anything to go by, there may yet be signs of life in international football’s biggest fallen giant.
In this season’s Nations League, Italy certainly seem to have turned it around. Despite having been drawn into a difficult group containing France and Belgium, Italy have been majorly impressive thus far. After picking up a 3-1 upset win against France at the Parc des Princes during the opening matchday, Italy haven’t looked back - and a lot of this has to do with head coach Luciano Spalletti. After Italy crashed out of Euro 2024 against Switzerland, Spalletti retooled the team’s general strategy and direction.
Spalletti has begun to favour greater positional flexibility, making the team’s tactical setup much more versatile especially when compared to the years when predecessor Roberto Mancini is in charge. It’s this adaptability which served Italy well in their away victories over France and Belgium. This is especially noticeable when Italy are attacking; their setup allows certain players more opportunities to make key off-ball runs to catch opposing defenses off-guard. Spalletti has also utilized decoy plays, often making use of pass-and-move sequences and diagonal balls for these. Both were key parts of the Serie A title that Spalletti coached Napoli to; he’s now brought them into the national team to much effect.
But beyond the X’s and O’s, Spalletti appears to have instilled a degree of grit and heart within the team that wasn’t nearly as present before. Although it might not have been the most outstanding performance, Italy were able to gut it out in a way that they perhaps wouldn’t have been able to just a few months back - let alone a year or two ago. This was most clearly seen in the second half when Italy guarded their lead with a level of intensity that’s sorely been missing over the past decade-plus.
It’s also worth mentioning that several of the players who had previously been fringe selections but have now begun to play larger roles have certainly elevated this team. Players such as Mateo Retegui, Giacomo Raspadori, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Samuele Ricci have now become regular starters; this wasn’t the case until the Nations League began, and so far, they not only seem to have slotted in seamlessly, but are playing at a higher level than the players from whom they took their starting spots. More importantly, this appears to be sustainable and not a mere flash in the pan - for all we know, perhaps Italy might have done better at Euro 2024 if one or more of them had seen more playing time.
Of course, it’s way too soon to unequivocally declare that Italy are truly back. However, most of the signs right now are - after years of struggle with the exception of Euro 2020 - pointing in the right direction. While not the outright favourite by any means, they’re looking like a dark horse contender to take the Nations League title.
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