Spalletti: ‘Italy confidence hit, but period still positive’ | OneFootball

Luciano Spalletti admits the 3-1 defeat to France and set play issues could damage their confidence, but insists Italy’s Nations League campaign is ‘without doubt positive.’

The Azzurri started in much the same way as they did in Paris back in September, conceding this time after 119 seconds to an Adrien Rabiot header on a corner.

This is becoming a real problem for them, because the Lucas Digne free kick ricocheting off the crossbar and Guglielmo Vicario’s back, then another Rabiot header from a free kick means the last six goals conceded by Italy have all been dead ball situations.

Spalletti sees Italy positives and negatives

Italy defender Andrea Cambiaso (C) celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Italy and France at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 17 November 2024. EPA-EFE/DANIEL DAL ZENNARO

“Unfortunately, this is the situation. You could’ve had a more relaxing atmosphere with less pressure, you concede immediately from a corner kick,” Spalletti told RAI Sport.

“We then tried to force our way back in and used up a lot of energy. It might be a coincidence that we concede so many set plays, it was a balanced game and we felt like we could get back into it, but then after another set play goal, France clammed up and it was difficult to find the space.

“What caused us the most problems was that the midfielders did not ‘clean’ the ball, we needed a lot more quality in possession, to steal it back in tight spaces, but we didn’t do enough of that.”

Andrea Cambiaso managed to get one back, but unlike in Paris, this time France emerged 3-1 winners and took top spot in the group.

That means they will also be top seeds in the draw for the Nations League quarter-finals, which will be played in March.

Considering how bad Italy were at EURO 2024, winning all except two of their Nations League games and qualifying for the quarter-finals with a match in hand is still progress.

“The overall evaluation of the period is without doubt positive,” concluded Spalletti.

“We saw some good things tonight too, but clearly this defeat creates some problems in terms of confidence and it should not rob us of those certainties, because we did show them at times.”