Upbeat Italy keep the good times rolling

It would have been a shame to throw away the good work done in France by slipping up against Belgium and Israel. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at how the Azzurri stayed top of their Nations League group in sometimes testing circumstances.

We could hardly have asked for a better tonic after such a miserable Euros. Watching Italy of late has felt like getting a bit of winter sunshine after suffering some rainswept summer staycation. It will never take away the pain and regret, but it has at least applied a little healing balm to the wounds suffered.

Not everything was perfect across the two matches in Rome and Udine – that was barely plausible – but the balance was surely a positive one. Some new names shone, more established ones confirmed their qualities and qualification for the final eight of the Nations League was just about secured. There are two tricky games to come – away to Belgium and at home to France – but they can be faced with more confidence than many would have imagined.

The first game in Italy’s October break was surely a glass-half-full affair for all but the most miserable supporter. Against another side ranked higher than them in the world the Azzurri started brightly in a dazzling tribute to Totò Schillaci who was honoured before kick-off at the Stadio Olimpico. They zipped the ball about like a team that had long since cleared its head of any hangover from Germany.

Their full-backs, wing-backs or call them what you will, thrived – with Federico Dimarco teeing up his counterpart on the opposite flank, Andrea Cambiaso, for the opening goal. They were involved again in the build-up to the second as a parried shot was expertly tucked away by Mateo Retegui, continuing his fine run of form. Perhaps Italy has found its new first-choice striker after all.

The midfield, too, was playing like clockwork with Samuele Ricci confirming all his promise and Sandro Tonali enjoying a most pleasant return to football. With the defence showing the composure you would expect from Riccardo Calafiori and Alessandro Bastoni everything was going perfectly. That was, of course, until disaster struck in an ill-timed lunge by Lorenzo Pellegrini which was upgraded from yellow to red and left La Nazionale facing a very different challenge.

In truth, they might even have held on for the win but conceding straight away from the resultant free-kick left them more than happy with a draw. They will not have been content with their defending on set pieces – particularly the second one – but otherwise, they held things together well. Perhaps, if Davide Frattesi had rolled the ball to Retegui after an exquisite control instead of shooting, they might even have still sneaked an improbable win.

It would be unfair to be too critical of Pellegrini over his rush of blood as he had been impressive up until his expulsion but he needs to learn quickly to avoid such impulsive acts. He is probably one of the least certain selections in the Italy midfield at present and, if they do well without him, he might find himself frozen out. There is no doubting his quality, but he needs to make sure he delivers it all the time.

His suspension made at least one change inevitable for the Israel game but Luciano Spalletti chose to make a couple of other switches as in came Guglielmo Vicario, Giacomo Raspadori and Nicolò Fagioli with mixed results. The goalkeeper flapped at a corner to concede a goal, the Napoli man fell over when it looked like he had a tap-in and the midfielder was hooked at halftime after an unconvincing display. As a team, though, it was another step in the right direction.

The wide men were again in top form, Tonali at his driving best and Retegui showed his cool finishing once more. It was also a nice night for Giovanni Di Lorenzo who grabbed a double after much criticism and had a controlled evening. And once more Frattesi displayed his love of scoring goals for his country. A debut for Daniel Maldini – with some touches as if he had been playing for a lifetime in the national team – was the icing on the cake.

More than any individual, though, this has been about the overall performances. Some of the football has been delightful. The players have backed themselves to play it out from the back and—more often than not—delivered. They have conceded the odd silly goal, but otherwise, they have shown character, ability, and attitude. It should stand them in good stead for the challenges ahead.

It appears that Spalletti has taken on board the lessons of the summer and started to implement the necessary changes. We are beginning to see what his Italy could look like and how he hopes it can play and that has been pretty pleasing. There will no doubt be setbacks but the picture is a lot more attractive than it was a few months ago. They will be put to the test once more in November but there will be a lot more hope than trepidation than many of us might have imagined. The Azzurri have a vision, ambition and boldness that was lacking in the summer and anyone who holds them dear will hope that can continue for some time to come.