Football Italia
·6 September 2024
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·6 September 2024
Italy came back from conceding their earliest ever goal, to putting on an encouraging display, finishing their first Nations League match of the campaign with a 3-1 victory away in France, with particularly impressive performances from the likes of Davide Frattesi, Federico Dimarco and Giacomo Raspadori.
Check out the player ratings from Friday night’s entertaining Azzurri win at the Parc des Princes.
Donnarumma 6.5 – Beaten one-on-one for Barcola’s early opener, also had to keep an eye on Mbappè, who was screaming out for the cut-back. Followed up by a couple of important saves. A big presence in the Azzurri net.
Di Lorenzo 4.5 – Couldn’t have got off to a worse start – at fault for the quickest goal Italy have ever conceded. Another scare when up against Barcola early in the second-half as well. Spalletti will struggle to justify his inclusion if these mistakes continue.
Bastoni 7 – A very solid performance from the Nerazzurri centre-half, who did a good job at minimising the threat posed by Kylian Mbappè. Calm and composed against one of the most feared forwards of the modern era.
Calafiori 7 – Had the Parc des Princes crowd quite wound up before his second-half substitution. Decent enough up against Olise – didn’t get the opportunity to make many of his big runs forward against a threatening France side. (Buongiorno 6)
Cambiaso 7 – A handful of poor first-half touches, non-existent on one occasion, but improved as Italy settled into the game. A lovely cross-field ball over for Dimarco for the first-half equaliser, too. Probably a bit better in the opposition’s half than he was in his own earlier on.
Frattesi 7.5 – Timed his run very well to tuck away Italy’s second after a slick turnover. Had looked keen to get himself a second before his unfortunate withdrawal an hour in. (Udogie 6.5)
Ricci 7 – An interesting pick that definitely worked out for Spalletti. Made a couple of very decent long balls forward to get the attacks going, and was very solid in possession as the most central of the three midfielders. 92% pass completion rate.
Tonali 7 – A delightful bit of link-up play for Dimarco’s equaliser. Brought a much-needed bit of aggression to the Italy midfield, particularly in the first-half. A very solid return after such a long period out.
Dimarco 7.5 – Scorer of one of the finest Azzurri goals of recent times. Aside from that, was a big threat down Italy’s left and made the most of the space often left between Olise and Clauss. (Brescianini n/a)
Pellegrini 5.5 – Not the most impactful performance from the Roma captain, who wasn’t really able to create much in his advanced midfield role. Swapped out at half-time for Raspadori, who brought a bit more energy and directness to the Italy attack. (Raspadori 7.5)
Retegui 6.5 – Didn’t make the most of his first-half chances and probably should have equalised before Dimarco, but made amends with a fine assist for Frattesi. Really came into life in and around the penalty area. With Scamacca out long-term, the starting centre-forward role is his to lose. (Kean n/a)
Raspadori 7.5 – Made such a difference after replacing Pellegrini at half-time. Showed a bit of strength, and played a perfectly-weighted pass in the build-up to Frattesi’s goal. He was sharp and alert in the area and improvised really well with his touch and finish for Italy’s third. Spalletti’s side were a completely different team in the first half, and the Napoli forward played a big role in that. Very decent performances from Bastoni, Dimarco, Ricci, Tonali and Retegui, too.
Spalletti 6.5 – It looked a touch worrying after the first few seconds. Italy took a little while to find their rhythm, but once they got going, they looked so much better than the team that was knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16 at the EUROs this summer. The CT will likely face questions on his continued selection of Di Lorenzo, but a few other calls should be applauded as well, particularly the inclusion of Ricci and Tonali.
France: Maignan 6; Clauss 5.5, Konate 5.5, Saliba 5, Theo H. 6.5; Fofana 6, Kante 6; Olise 5.5, Griezmann 5, Barcola 6.5; Mbappe 6.
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