The ten-minute equalizer scored by Bardhi from a free kick ruins the party for Spalletti, who also almost falls in front of North Macedonia like his predecessor Mancini a year and a half ago. Lucio, on his debut, was saved in part because in Skopje only a draw was achieved, which does not affect, but rather complicates, the path towards Euro 2024 (on Tuesday the game will be played at San Siro against Ukraine and there we absolutely need victory) but leaves many uncertainties and insecurities in the heads of his players, as in the recent past.
INSIGHTS
The wasted opportunities
Because Italy applied themselves a lot, they did so following the coach’s new principles, but we can see that it takes time to get back to being great and Spalletti cannot be expected to solve problems with a magic wand.
The problems that existed before are also partly noticeable now. Too many wasted opportunities and the usual defensive amnesia. The wounds Lucio referred to remain, they have not been completely healed.
Immobile’s goal
On the positive side, the team found the continuity of Immobile, he scored the goal of the advantage/illusion and tried, partially succeeding, to play proactive football. This led Macedonia to take advantage of the counterattacks and in the first half Italy, despite creating, risked conceding a goal on more than one occasion.
Tiredness
In the second half, something changed in the minds of the Italian players, who were also victims of tiredness. The arrivals of Zaniolo, Scalvini, Gnonto and Biraghi were not enough to give freshness, on the contrary, there was a lot of confusion and Zaniolo committed the foul, the one that led to the equalizer’s free kick. The team dropped too low and suffered the play of Macedonia.
The draw
The draw was inevitable. And right too. Against Ukraine, Italy will have the chance to secure second place, which would mean Euro 2024. At San Siro, yes, only the victory will count so as not to end up in another drama. And we don’t wish it on Spalletti, who has just started.
1970-01-01 00:00:00
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