Stramaccioni: Spain a ‘meaningful test’ for Italy at EURO 2024 | OneFootball

Former Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni feels the upcoming match against Spain at EURO 2024 will be a ‘meaningful test’ for Luciano Spalletti’s Italy.

The Azzurri won their debut in the competition against Albania last week and will face Spain in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday, June 20, 2024.

Alessandro Bastoni and Riccardo Calafiori impressed in Dortmund last week, but it remains to be seen if they will be confirmed in central defence against Spain.

The focus on defence is high, especially after EURO 2020, which the Azzurri won thanks to the vital contribution of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci,

“Don’t forget about Cannavaro, Materazzi and Nesta at the 2006 World Cup,” argued Stramaccioni in an interview with Tuttosport.

“Italy have always based their feats on great defenders and I think the number of defenders included by Spalletti in the team reflects his attention on the matter. Our lads are strong individually, they just need to play together and accumulate ‘battles’ on the pitch. I am confident about their qualities and the ability of the coach.

“I really liked the way Italy faced the game tactically, building up with a three-man defence with Di Lorenzo, Calafiori, and Bastoni promoted to the leader of central defence without Acerbi,” he continued.

“All this, with the ability to defend with four men, Dimarco on the left and Di Lorenzo on the right, so that our most talented player in one-v-one, Chiesa, would not waste energies with defensive duties.”

The Azzurri are not favourites against Spain, but the convincing performance against Albania suggests it may not be a bad idea to look to the Nazionale through some great sweepstakes casino options.

“Italy dominated the possession against Albania and I am convinced we will play our brand of football when we have the ball against Spain. But beware of opponents,” said Stramaccioni.

“We’ll face the best ones when it comes to building up. Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, and Pedri impressed me in the opening match, and they have two superb wingers, Williams and Yamal. I see a much more practical Spain than the last World Cup and less sterile. It will be a meaningful test for our national team.”

The first EURO 2024 round ended on Tuesday with Portugal’s 2-1 win over Czechia and Stramaccioni named the two teams he has enjoyed the most so far.

“It’s just the first round, so it’s still quite early to judge,” he admitted.

“Surely, aside from Italy, I liked Germany’s defensive blocks. Andrich has given them a defensive stability that they seemed to be lacking in the past. Then there is France, the only top team without a pure deep-lying playmaker playing with Kante and Rabiot.”