Outclassed 3-1 by England on Tuesday, Italy once again finds itself on the edge of the abyss: to get their ticket to Euro 2024, the reigning European champions will have no room for error against North Macedonia and Ukraine in a month.
“And now we pray”: for Corriere dello Sport, one of the main Italian sports dailies, the Nazionale now needs the help of everyone, even from the most impenetrable routes, to be able to defend its European title in eight months in Germany. No offense to Corriere dello Sport, Luciano Spalletti’s team certainly returned empty-handed from Wembley, but they still have their destiny in their hands.
Third in its group with 10 points, Italy will finish 2nd at best and will secure its ticket for Euro 2024 (June 14-July 14) if it beats North Macedonia in Rome on November 17, then Ukraine on the field neutral in Leverkusen (Germany) three days later.
Even a draw or a defeat against North Macedonia, already eliminated, would not be crippling for the Azzuri, but in this case they will absolutely have to then beat the Ukrainians, 2nd with 13 points and a match in hand.
But in a country still traumatized by the “Palermo nightmare” of March 2022, a 1-0 defeat against… North Macedonia which had deprived the Nazionale of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, this prospect of a decisive match is frightening.
Everything started well for the Azzuri at Wembley, in the stadium where they won Euro 2021 against these same Englishmen in the final after penalties: they surprised their hosts by taking the advantage thanks to Gianluca Scamacca and pushed them until the break, before sinking in the second half.
“We didn’t deserve to lose by two goals, but in confrontations at this level, you have to have a physical impact and make the right decisions quickly,” Spalletti analyzed. But the former Naples coach, who succeeded Roberto Mancini in August, warned at the end of the match that his team “was going to continue with the same pattern of play”.
“It takes time to change mentalities,” recalled Spalletti who conceded his first defeat since taking office, after a draw (1-1 in North Macedonia) and two victories (2-1 against Ukraine and 4-0 against Malta). This Italy, whose offensive shortcomings were known, lacking a proven scorer, is now worried about its defensive feverishness.
For this second gathering, the coach was not spoiled. He had to face a cascade of injury withdrawals which deprived him in particular of Federico Chiesa and Ciro Immobile in attack.
And above all, the Nazionale found itself in the turmoil of a new case of illicit betting: police officers came to question two players, Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo, at the Coverciano training center, who could be suspended for up to three years.
Between now and November, nothing says that other internationals will not be caught up in this scandal: the name of striker Stephan El Shaarawy, who started Tuesday’s meeting, is now cited by Fabrizio Corona, the ex- king of the paparazzi who is at the origin of this affair.
For the Corriere dello Sport, decidedly much more dejected by the defeat at Wembley than the other titles of the Italian press, nothing is going well in the calcio: “the gap with the greats of Europe and the world is now insurmountable, because Italy is no longer Italy,” he judges in his editorial.
