⚽ Italy – Key Euro Statistics ⚽
Appearances at the Euro: ten
European titles: 2
Best finish: Winners (1968, 2020)
Euro record: W21 D18 L6
Goals scored: 52
Biggest victory: 3-0 (against Turkey and against Switzerland at Euro 2020)
Player to watch: Federico Dimarco
World ranking: 9th
Group meetings:
- June 15: Italy vs Albania (BVB Stadion, Dortmund, 9:00 p.m. local/7:00 p.m. GMT)
- June 20: Spain vs Italy (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, 9:00 p.m. local/7:00 p.m. GMT)
- June 24: Croatia vs Italy (Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, 9:00 p.m. local/7:00 p.m. GMT)
How to follow our coverage of Euro 2024: UEFA Euro 2024 on Al Jazeera
Italy arrives at the Euro as reigning champion, but the title arrives without aura; it has been gradually eroding since that incredible summer night at Wembley, London, in 2021.
Less than a year after their Euro crowning glory, the Azzurri suffered the ignominy of missing out on the 2022 Qatar World Cup after a superb stoppage-time goal saw them lose their series semi-final playoffs against football minnows North Macedonia.
Their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign has been just as busy.
After their first two qualifying matches – a defeat against England and a victory against Malta – Italy were rocked by the resignation of coach Roberto Mancini after more than five years in the role.
He was replaced by Luciano Spalletti, whose first match in charge was a 1-1 draw, which also came against their 2022 foe North Macedonia. With just one victory in their first three matches, qualification for Euro 2024 suddenly seemed precarious.
A run of three wins in four matches saw Italy qualify for the final group match against Ukraine, knowing that a defeat would see them progress to the playoffs. A tense goalless draw ensured direct passage to the Euros thanks to their superior head-to-head record.
The bet went wrong
Alongside their qualifying woes, the Italian team’s preparations were rocked by a betting scandal which saw police attend the national team’s Coverciano training center ahead of qualifying in October to question Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo. The duo then left the camp and Tonali was subsequently handed a 10-month ban by the Italian Football Federation.
Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was also handed a seven-month ban after being found guilty in the investigation, but he was named in Italy’s final 26-man squad for the Euro 2024.
His inclusion is indicative of the lack of attacking options ahead of Spalletti.
Zaniolo and striker Domenico Berardi have been ruled out of the tournament through injury, while Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne are no longer playing their club football in Europe and have fallen out of national favor.
Injuries have hampered Federico Chiesa’s progress, with the 26-year-old Juventus striker yet to rediscover the form that saw him light up Euro 2020.
Gianluca Scamacca, who has scored 19 goals for Europa League winners Atalanta this season, is expected to lead the front line, but he has only scored once for Italy in his 15 appearances.
Giacomo Raspadori is the other attacking option at Spalletti’s disposal, but he has only scored 12 goals in the last two seasons.
Defense is the best form of attack
All of this suggests a team that will be built around its defense. Unsurprisingly, the Azzurri have no shortage of talent in this department: their 30-man preliminary squad includes 11 eleven defenders.
Of those 11, four came from Inter Milan – before the late withdrawal of Francesco Acerbi through injury – and given the Nerazzurri’s sparse defending this year, Inter’s three remaining defenders are all likely to start in Germany.
Inter’s 22 goals conceded in Serie A this season are the lowest among any club in Europe’s top five leagues. The feat was achieved while playing with three players. So, replicating a system with a group of defenders already comfortable playing in it seems almost a no-brainer for Spalletti’s national team at Euro 2024.
The coach fielded a three-man defense for the first time in his tenure in the March 2024 friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador, with Italy winning both. The sample size is small but the ceiling could be high.
A backline of Alessandro Bastoni and Alessandro Boungiorni – Acerbi’s likely replacement – with Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian at the back is, on paper, one of the best defenses at Euro 2024.
But will it be enough to take them deep into the tournament?
Spalletti admitted in an interview with Sky Italia that there are other countries that are at a higher level than Italy, but backed his team to compete with them.
“Our goal is to come back from Germany and hear the Italians say, ‘We are proud of you,'” he said.
In a tough group including Spain, Croatia and Albania, even a quarter-final would go a long way in helping Spalletti achieve that goal.
If the Italians manage to pull off an improbable coup in the tournament, they will join Germany and Spain as record three-time European champions.
⚽ Italy’s final squad for Euro 2024 ⚽
Captain: Gianluigi Donnarumma
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Naples), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham Hotspur)
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan) , Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma)
Midfielder : Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Hellas Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
Advantages: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated website Euro 2024 tournament page with all the match preparation and live text commentary, and stay up to date with group ranking and in real time match results and schedules.
