Italy Have Defied the Naysayers and Painful Euro 2024 Memories With Their Nations League Transformation

When the dust had settled after Euro 2024, the Italian national team was in ruins. The cries for more youth gathered momentum but were countered by complaints that not enough experienced players had been selected for the tournament in Germany. According to the calcio sages, Luciano Spalletti’s days were numbered.

But three months is a long time in football.

With Italy drawn to face highly ranked Belgium and France in the Nations League, nobody—not even Gigio Donnarumma himself—would have held high hopes. Everyone had given up on them. In anticipation of another failure, the omnipotent media sharpened their knives, fans were still busy making memes from the Euros, and podcasters wanted heads on spikes.

Yet, at the end of the October break, Spalletti’s squad is just a point away from a quarter-final spot and, more importantly, a top seed for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

All of this achieved without Italy’s best striker, Gianluca Scamacca, and best player, Nicolò Barella. Credit where credit’s due.

Somehow, the goals are flowing. The Azzurri have scored the most goals of any team in League A (11 at the time of writing) while contesting the toughest group.

It started miserably when Giovanni Di Lorenzo assisted Bradley Barcola’s goal in the opening seconds in Paris on match day one. But the Napoli captain was honoured with the Italy armband in Udine and responded with staunch defending and two delightful goals.

“It was already exciting just wearing the armband, so two goals as well makes it remarkable. I will remember this night for the rest of my life,” Di Lorenzo told RAI.

While RAI’s pundits seemed content with the performance, La Gazzetta dello Sport journalists lay awake at night, dreaming of the next time they’ll write the word “crisis.”

Instead, Spalletti now commands the room at press conferences, triggering the naysayers into submission. And yes, it may be “just the Nations League” or “glorified friendlies,” as they call it, but one can only play what is in front of them. Remember, France and Belgium were outplayed by the Italians, the latter contained despite Lorenzo Pellegrini’s first-half red card.

In all honesty, not much has changed in terms of goal-generation statistics since the Euros, with Italy creating only five more (48) than in Germany (43) when comparing four-match sequences.

The big changes can be observed with Italy’s progression in the middle third of the pitch. The passing lanes now open like clockwork, with balls being hit at pace and diagonally. Players come to meet the ball more and use their bodies to shield possession on the first touch.

Intelligent runs are made left and right. How many times have we seen a long ball hit to perfection by Riccardo Calafiori or Alessandro Bastoni to put Federico Dimarco into space? The overall structure oozes organisation and cohesion.

Mateo Retegui and Giacomo Raspadori were sharp and, on another night, Italy would have buried seven goals had it not been for Israeli goalkeeper Omri Glazer using every part of his body to contain the attacks in the first half. But even he could only watch as Retegui confidently dispatched the penalty kick into the top right corner with aplomb.

The relentless pressure from the Italians in the opening half was nothing we hadn’t seen before in Rome, Budapest, and Paris. Such was the domaince, the RAI cameraman should have turned the camera to the right and gone for a cigarette break and an Amaro del Capo.

The response to Israel’s controversial goal was aggressive and swift: the Skyblue and Whites were left in Sandro Tonali’s vapour trail as the Newcastle United midfielder flew into the penalty box from the resulting kickoff. It was enough to inspire Davide Frattesi moments later when he pierced Glazer’s goal for the third time.

Seconds later, Azzurri fans chanted Maldini’s name for the first time in over 20 years. With mother Adriana and father Paolo in attendance, the Monza man played a crucial role in Italy’s fourth, sending Destiny Udogie in behind with a sensational nutmeg through the legs of Mahmoud Jaber. Udogie cut back for Di Lorenzo to drive home from 18 yards.

Maldini’s international debut arrived 36 years after his father’s. Yes, the dynasty is real!

Sentimentality was one of the themes of the night. Guglielmo Vicario was handed his competitive debut in his hometown, as was Lorenzo Lucca, selections that helped Spalletti lay more bricks in his Nazionale wall.

There’s a verve and swagger about Italy’s style and technique. The threats come from wide, central areas and the bench, the latter visibly entertained by those chosen to start the match ahead of them, cheering on their teammates from the sideline behind a hyper Spalletti.

“These lads have proved they deserve the national team,” Spalletti said in the post-match. “After the Euros, I wanted to rejuvenate the team; they’ve all proved they’re genuinely up to the task.”

Four months ago, Italy were the laughing stock of the European Championships, a tournament they entered as defending champions. Donnarumma’s heroics failed to inspire a side so lacklustre it couldn’t register a kick against Switzerland in the knockout stage.

The Nations League has given Spalletti a platform to play creative football against top opponents. And then there’s Israel, a welterweight who has found themselves taking jabs and uppercuts from the heavies. No one can deny that Italy’s game plan has been consistent, regardless.

“It was a tough game today, but we made it look simple,” Di Lorenzo reflected.

It may have taken forty minutes to break Israel down in Udine, but the next sixty reinforced Italy’s position at the top of Group 2 in League A. The Bluenergy Stadium has been kind to Italy, still undefeated in ten matches, with eight wins and two draws.

Another big test awaits: Belgium in Brussels in mid-November. A draw will be enough to get Italy into the quarter-finals. But will Spalletti settle for mediocrity with his shiny new side? He could face a selection headache if Barella is fit, which is an excellent problem to have hanging over one’s head.

Not forgetting, the former Udinese manager is keeping an eye on an Under-21 set up brimming with potential superstars like Tommaso Baldanzi who scored a hat trick in September in the Azzurrini‘s 3-0 win over Norway.

Carmine Nunziata has again picked a talented squad for the Euro qualifiers, featuring some of the best youth in Serie A, Serie B and beyond, including Cesare Casadei (Chelsea), Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds) and Luca Koleosho (Burnley).

“We have very strong national youth teams,” Spalletti told me during an interview in January. “They are young players who push, you have to be good at knowing how to get to know them and help them grow.”

Currently top of Group A, Italy takes on second-placed Ireland today in Trieste, located less than an hour from Udine. Expect Spalletone in the stands.