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Players of Italy celebrate after scoring the 0-1 goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Belgium and Italy in Brussels, Belgium, 14 November 2024. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER MATTHYS
Italy fought hard to claim a 1-0 victory away against Belgium in the Nations League on Thursday evening, thanks to Sandro Tonali and his first ever international goal after 11 minutes.
Here are three talking points after a battling Italy display in Brussels.
Are Italy are on the way back?
It wasn’t always a blockbuster against Belgium, but Italy showed a lot of character and determination to keep a clean sheet and come away with the three points. The Azzurri of the summer might not have won that one last night.
The results speak for themselves. Unbeaten across their last five matches and four wins in the time since the EUROs. Two of those wins came away against France and Belgium, as well.
Some key players are still missing, but some are back in the team and back to their best as well – Sandro Tonali the obvious candidate here. And encouragingly, there are still other options who could come back in and make a difference. Riccardo Calafiori isn’t currently involved, nor is Giorgio Scalvini, both of whom make excellent, long-term additions to the defence. It all looks a touch more promising than it did a few months ago.
Is Ricci irreplaceable for Italy?
The midfield is arguably one of Italy’s strongest departments in terms of its depth, but the impact that Samuele Ricci has had across his four caps this season has been and was perhaps even more evident in his absence against Belgium last night.
The 23-year-old is not involved with the current national group while he nurses an injury, so Nicolo Rovella was given the nod in his place at the base of Luciano Spalletti’s midfield. Rovella started brightly, but did not always offer the same discipline or coolness on the ball in the high-pressure moments.
Given that Tonali is most regularly used as one of the box-to-box midfielders in Spalletti’s current system, and given that Manuel Locatelli has rarely been given a chance since the CT took over, there are not too many other options that offer the same level of quality as Ricci at the moment.
Still some areas in need of improvement
Though Italy are arguably improving as a collective, the striking department is still the weakest position in Spalletti’s squad. Mateo Retegui has done incredibly well for Atalanta and for Italy so far this campaign, but the Belgium game wasn’t exactly a highlight.
The 25-year-old wasn’t provided with too many chances to be fair to him, but failed to convert his one glaringly obvious chance to put the game to bed. Moise Kean was given a run-out mid-way through the second half, and did not have any more success in front of goal.
Though both have excelled at club level this season, there are not too many other top-flight centre-forwards to come in and replace them if either suffers a drop-off in form at any point.
Player ratings: Belgium 0-1 Italy – Donnarumma and Tonali impress