Italy’s Line-Up Doubts & Tensions Before Türkiye Clash — Don’t Blame the New Boys!
✅ Subscribe To The Channel for More Videos: / / footballitalia ✅ Important Links: 👉 Website: https://football-italia.net/ Tonight, Italy visit Türkiye in the Nations League, with Roberto Mancini expected to confirm a 4-3-3 system despite Friday's 2-0 home loss to Belgium. The starting XI will change, with Alessandro Bastoni returning and Michael Kayode and Matteo Ruggeri making their debuts, while Nicolò Fagioli and Issa Doumbia battle for a starting spot in central midfield. Lorenzo and Giancarlo examine the strengths and weaknesses of the potential Azzurri XI and discuss tensions outside the Italy team, involving FIGC President Giovanni Malagò, CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio and Italy Sports Minister Andrea Abodi. Watch the show and let us know what you think about Italy's situation, on and off the pitch! ✅ Stay Connected With Us: 👉Instagram: / @gazzettafootballitalia 👉 (X)Twitter: https://x.com/footballitalia 0:00 Previewing Italy vs Turkey 3:46 Probable lineups and tactics 5:13 Defensive concerns and depth 10:09 The 4-3-3 tactical struggle 13:33 Midfield roles and challenges 17:22 Squad rotation and squad depth 20:01 Patience for young players 24:13 Off-pitch tensions and context
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Welcome back to the Football Italia Show. I'm Lorenzo Bettini. Tonight Italy face Turkey in an Italian derby between Roberto Mancini and Vincenzo Montella, two ex-Sampdoria strikers. We break it all down today, what we can expect, the probable lineups. Let's see and find out what we can see tonight in Turkey. >> [music] >> Joining me today Giancarlo Rinaldi, a few days after the 2-0 loss against Belgium, which we examined live from the Stadio Olimpico. Ciao Gianc, thank you so much for joining me today. >> It's always a pleasure, Lorenzo. >> So, let's see how we feeling this morning. Are we confident? Are we pessimistic? How we feel? >> Nervous, nervous, I think. You know, not pessimistic, but definitely nervous. I mean, it's a sign of, I suppose, where Italy stand in football that we're bottom of this group and we go to Turkey with, you know, not a lot of confidence, not a lot of certainties. You know, I think maybe the only certainty is that um Donnarumma plays in goals. The rest is The rest is up for debate, really, isn't it? Um there's nobody nobody safe. And and and nothing's certain. So, you know, it's a it's a worry. I think maybe we really really hope that um Montella does us a favor, doesn't doesn't play too well. I don't know. You know, is he our secret agent in Turkey to try and start the rebuilding process. So, but I do think the grounds for optimism, if there are some, is that, you know, there are going to be big changes and we have to hope that those big changes make a difference. It's not easy, you know, I I think a lot of the players that we're pinning our hopes on would have liked a more gentle introduction, but there we go. They're not getting one. This is going to be a tough game. Are you reading the Gazzetta this morning, you realize just how serious it would be to finish bottom of this group, you know, you'd be no longer seeded for the Euros and World Cup. You It really would be a a reality check for the Azzurri. So, I'm nervous. I'm still hopeful because I do think that our good players there. It's just a question of getting them confident and getting them into a system that gets the the best out of them. >> [snorts] >> Yeah, you mentioned the uh table in the group A where we're placed with Belgium, France, and of course, Turkey. Um finishing bottom of the table, as you said, would mean not being a seeded team in the year 2028 qualifying draw, which will take place in uh um December, uh but also, obviously, would mean that also, we are at risk of being relegated. Now, not all the uh fourth place are really fourth place teams are relegated, but just the two lowest ranked uh um go down. Lowest ranked four teams. The other The highest ranked four teams, the other two, uh they go in a playoff which uh being Italy over the last few years is not a nice place to be in. So, we need a win tonight or at least avoid defeat to to hope we don't um uh we don't face this uh elephant of relegation or at least not finishing bottom of the table. Um let's start with the probable lineups. Uh According to all sources, we know as well that uh um Mancini will continue with a 4-3-3, which again is up for debate. Uh Donnarumma in goal, Calabria, Scalvini, Bastoni, and Ruggeri in defense with Ruggeri a favorite over uh Riccardo Calafiori. Tonali, Fagioli, and Davide Frattesi are expected to be to be the midfielders, even though there is a doubt between Fagioli and Dumfries. And then the attack will be with uh Giacomo Raspadori, uh Francesco Pio Esposito, and Niccolo Cambiaghi as well. Yet again, you got to see who plays on the left, who plays on the right because uh during training sessions at Coverciano, the one we we covered as well, the very first one of Roberto Mancini, uh Cambiaghi was used as a left uh sorry, as a right winger when his actual natural role is left winger. So, uh and it's actually the role that he played against um uh against Belgium as well. Uh Raspadori, it's been his whole career wondering is he a right winger, left winger, attacking midfielder, false nine, support striker? It's still not quite clear which role he has, but he will get apparently a spot um in the attack. Uh another talking point aside from uh Calabria and Ruggeri's expected debut with Italy national team is the return of Alessandro Bastoni in central defense. He served a one-game ban against Belgium um because we all remember he was sent off against Bosnia uh in March when Italy lost the playoff final to qualify for the World Cup. Now, uh I I can already imagine some comments complaining about Bastoni returning to the starting 11 saying that he's not a man-marker. And I mean, I agree with some of of comments. He is not a man-marker. is not your Chiellini, is not your Barzagli, is not any of the top Italian defenders of the past. But I don't even see a better option then. >> No, that I was going to say exactly that. He's the best we've got. This is the the truth of it. I mean, somebody name me name me who's better. I don't know. That's the That's the trouble is that we don't have the obvious standout central defenders that we once had. We've got a lot of good ones and I think he's, you know, I I think it shows quite a lot of character to come back. He's had a lot of criticism both with the national team and with Inter. I think it shows strength of character to to come back. I hope he has a good I hope he has a good game. Um you know, but that there is a a comment really on the strength in depth of of Italian central defenders at the moment that he is really the top dog. There's a lot of good young prospects that we can talk about, you know, there are a lot players on their way up, but you know, at the moment he's he's the most convincing that we have and that's, you know, that is a worry, I guess, but I I admire him for coming back, trying to put, you know, all of this behind him. He was unfairly, I think, made a bit of a scapegoat for that. He also had his trials and tribulations with the with Inter as well. So, you know, it's not been an easy time for him. He's taken a lot of criticism, but he's he's putting his face there. He's coming back to to represent his country. You know, some players would have just said, "No, I I I don't want to play anymore." So, you know, yes, I can understand the criticism. I can understand the concern, but when they put that blue shirt on, I think we should all we should all get behind them at least for at least for 90 minutes and and support them and hope that they can do well because I don't think, you know, Coppola certainly didn't come through the the the game on Friday night with any great um you know, great performance. Mancini, I think we know the level he's at. He has I mean, he's grown in me as a player, Mancini, but the reality is these are the players we have. Scalvini is a great prospect. I love Scalvini as a player, but you know, is he ready? Is he up to the levels of what we've had in the past? That's, you know, time time will tell us that. That I mean, I'm so old I can remember, you know, people wondering whether Totti was worth his place in the Italy team. >> I wish we were there. >> Exactly. It's crazy to think, you know, you know, that people say that he wasn't good enough for Italy and and, you know, look back on the career. So, you know, I think um you know, it's easy and it's unfair, I always think, to compare a player who's completed their career with somebody who's in the middle of their career, you know, that's or or you know, relatively early on in it. I think it's easy to say he's not a he's not a Chiellini, he's not a Bonucci, he's not a Maldini, he's not an Nesta, but they we've got a whole career of theirs to look back on. Um so, you're not comparing like with like and all these players had their, you know, their their tough times, their criticisms that they maybe not I'll be he was about perfect, but you know, most most players had their criticisms during their career and it's how you it's how you respond to those and it's how it's how you develop. And more than one individual really, to me, it's about the team and getting the getting the team right. It still seems, I'll be honest with you, Lorenzo, that 4-3-3 seems a bit a bit forced with the players that we've got. Um you know, it it really relies on two great wide players and we don't really have two great wide players at the moment. That that's what concerns me more than more than any individual is have we got the right setup to get the best out of the individuals. I mean, I don't know what what you think. >> Now, I feel exactly the same. It's the the other point that I wanted to make and it's something that we'll be able to discuss in the previous live video from from the link because well, after the Belgium game um it's true that um yeah, on on the one hand, we want to move away from the 3-5-2 which then becomes a 5-3-2 which uh we don't see now that often around Europe in the top clubs uh uh because uh we got great examples in Italy with teams defending with three-man defense. We got Inter, we got Roma currently top of the table with Lazio. Uh but at the same time, we know that football is moving towards a direction where you got to defend with four four defenders. You got to have attacking fullbacks or at least just one who is actually attacking-minded and uh and make forward runs. So, we need these uh we we actually have the fullbacks. So, we actually have the players who can play wide in again 3-5-2 systems, but we don't quite have those attacking wingers and uh I agree with you. Even uh on Friday, the 4-3-3 was forced tell uh that he was forced by the fact that Moise Kean, even though he had a decent game, uh he played as a right winger which is something, as we already said, I don't I don't quite remember about Kean doing before in his career. So, the fact at the end of the day is that Mancini started his tenure with uh one player playing outside position. Tonight Tonight it could be the same because uh if Raspadori plays as a right winger, that is not quite his role. We've seen him mostly as an attacking midfielder as a left midfielder. Then is that type of player that every Italian coach seems to like and seems to appreciate. Obviously, we always complain about the lack of quality. We always complain about the lack in the first touch and lack of vision. And Raspadori has shown glimpses of those, not consistently, but he's one who can you know, touch the ball uh well in tight spaces. So, um sometimes is a player you you like to have, but is not your natural winger. And again, the other winger is Cambiaghi. Decent player, but he's 25. He only made his second appearance with Italy the other night. And honestly talking, he's not a starter at his club either. So, the options you have there are not great. And so, I feel as well that the 4-3-3 is a bit forced. And another problem we have with this 4-3-3, if you want to call it problem, is the regista role, which is something that has been hunting Italy since the end of the Jorginho and Verratti era. Um so, what I saw at Coverciano last week and what Mancini said as well the other night after the defeat against Belgium, is that he sees Fagioli as uh a box-to-box midfielder who helps in the build up. And he makes a he made a comparison with Verratti in the Euros. Uh and he doesn't see him as a playmaker. So, seeing the probable lineups today, as we mentioned, Frattesi, Tonali, and Fagioli, with this current setup, I would probably see Tonali playing as a six. Or maybe he has changed his mind and he will try Fagioli as a six. Or maybe if Fagioli doesn't play and Donnarumma starts, then at that point Tonali is going to be the number six. But here again, we return to I think the whole point you made about the 4-3-3. And one concern that I have about Mancini is that he's trying to replicate what he did in 2021. But it's not that. I mean, Fagioli is not Fagioli is not Verratti. Raspadori is not Chiesa. Cambiaghi is not Insigne. We probably have a better striker cuz I think going I mean Immobile was probably under underrated and underestimated. But going forward, do you feel Italy could have a top-class striker for the coming years in Francesco Pio Esposito, which is something that Immobile didn't quite achieve despite being a top top striker in in Serie A. But again, the the whole thing is is about this system being a bit forced. Then we hope that tonight's tonight's game will will prove us wrong. >> Okay, I mean, that's the that's the trouble is I don't think I don't like if you know Fagioli's not Verratti. He's a very different player, you know, so I mean, I would I would see him absolutely in that in playmaker role. I don't don't see him as you know, if you're going box to box, definitely Dybala would be a better choice. And I I thought Dybala looked pretty good when he came when he came on. I mean, you would have to have Tonali sitting deeper, I think, of the of the two cuz Paratici is naturally a guy you want to get into the penalty box cuz he's just got a happy a happy knack of getting goals. So, you know, I I see Fagioli as that man that that draws draws players towards him and then makes the talent pass pass them to that you know, that's his prime skill. He doesn't get a lot of goals. Uh I don't think he he ever will be a a regular contributor of goals. He could probably add a few more to his game, but you know, he's one that I watch very regularly with with Fiorentina, and he is in good form. He It's just I think with him it's always more a question of character than a question of quality, cuz I think he is a he is a nice nice footballer, but I think sometimes maybe his head can go down, or he just, you know, the the the passes don't go right for him, and it seems like a game can go past him. So, you know, if he plays the way I would absolutely see him in pulling the strings for it to be as he can with with Fiorentina as well. Um if if not, if you're looking for a more kind of physical midfield, then, you know, Donny van de Beek would be the would be the pick would be the pick there, I think. But again, it's that that worries me if if my genius is thinking sort of along the lines of, you know, this is my replacement for who I had at the Euros because we're we're trading down in almost every in almost every position, and we're even forcing players to try to mimic, you know, another player who they are not. So, um much better to see we'll play, you know, with Fagioli as Fagioli is now, rather than as a kind of fake a fake Verratti or whatever, where you know, I think that's a that's a dangerous road to go down because it only ends badly for this generation's players, I think. >> Yeah, I mean, I'm I'm saying box-to-box just to I mean, it's it's technically a box-to-box cuz he's not the deep play the deep playmaker, but it's technically a a double pivot and double playmaker. Um another um decision from Mancini that was widely debated in Italy over the last few days, you know. Um, the squad list for the Nations League for Nations League game has to be with 23 players. So, the original squad was 34 players. Which means Mancini had to cut 11 players from the original list. Now, one was Zaniolo who um, left Coverciano, left the Italy training camp over the weekend because he's still not fully fit. He would not be uh, eligible to play the next three games, so he won't be available for the next matches. He already turned to Udinese. So, the 10 players dropped for this game who have remained here in Florence in Coverciano for um, to follow a specific uh, training uh, um, are Acerbi, Barella, Coppola, Gnonto, Quagliata, Maldini, Mancini, uh, Gianluca, obviously. Uh, Pessina, Ricci, and Zoma. Now, five of five of these players uh, were involved against Belgium and three started. It's fairly surprising to see that the defending pair Coppola and Mancini have both remained at home alongside with Barella who I thought was probably the uh, best Italy midfielder the other day. Not that you would need so much to to be the best the best midfielder um, the other day for Italy. Uh, but there's no punishment in this decision. It's just a matter of rotating players and avoid uh, for some of them a long trip because don't forget after tonight's game we play France on Friday and then Turkey again at home in in a week's time. So, this is just to have a few full view on uh, the um, on the Italy on the Italy uh, collapse and these the actual available players for for game. Um, I'm I'm I'm still a little bit bit surprised by, for example, Ahanach not being introduced because uh you know, earned a big move to to the Premier League this summer, so maybe he's one of those players who could have brought brought with you, but he's not you won't lose or win the game because Ahanach is in the team or not, so uh doesn't make much of a difference. I'm a bit disappointed for Ignacio as well. I'd like to see him even for just a few minutes cuz I think he's he's a very good I really enjoyed him watching him in training the other day. He's very smooth with his shoot and I really like the way he touched the ball. We couldn't see much because they didn't do tactical work, but the way he touched the ball, the way he had his shot on target really I really liked it. Um, I want to add junk one thing about the young Italy players. Uh cuz there's been a lot of criticism about Romano. We showed his stats on Friday night. Now, that pass uh that led to the Belgium goal, obviously, it's something that when you're at the high level, uh it's it's a mistake that you can't make. Uh but we showed the stat that was uh just two wrong passes from 37, and unfortunately, one was the one that made Belgium score. But what I didn't like about the analysis over the net over the last few days is Romano didn't play well, you got to drop him. It's not how it works because we all want the young players, we all want the I mean, this is not Football Manager. You not getting a player who's 20, you put him on the pitch, and he does 10 years straight with no mistakes, making no errors, and it's just smooth. It doesn't work that way. If you want the young players, you need to accept the mistakes as well. It's not that whenever he makes a mistake, then you start rushing and looking for a replacement because it means that player is not good enough. That player is still good. He made a mistake, but he's young. And all the players make mistakes, and especially the young ones. And if you put all this pressure on all these young players, of course you always have pressure when you are Italy, but there was a nice interview to Donadoni in Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday. Don't think this 20-years-old will save our nation because it's not the case. It's not going to happen. We need to have patience. >> Yeah, definitely. I mean, do you remember Lorenzo when he before for signing for you then too suddenly his first games did not go great. He was so and he ended up doing he did okay with you here. I think we could say so. You know, it's it's I'm not saying Romagnoli going to have a career like that, but I do think everywhere around the world is the same where, you know, we expect players to be the finished product straight away. That's just not going to happen. It is I'll keep saying the same thing, but it is a team game, you know, and ultimately that's you know, no no one individual. Yes, a mistake can can cost you dear, but it's still on all 11. I thought it was quite nice that um Tonali kind of stood up and said, "Look, you know, if you want to blame anyone, blame us. Blame the more experienced players for this. Don't don't pick on, you know, somebody that's just making their first game." And I think that's the that's the worry for me, you know, going forward is that these boys are getting, you know, see Kayode coming in. I would have liked to seen him given a more gentle introduction to the national team, but now we've got this the huge expectati