Italy’s latest era begins with a trip to North Macedonia in Group C of the European Championship qualifiers, as Luciano Spalletti is handed two tricky fixtures to start life at the helm.
Luciano Spalletti’s debut as the new Italy head coach will take place away at the National Arena Toshe Proeski, where he will aim to earn a victory over North Macedonia in the EURO 2024 qualifiers.
Roberto Mancini’s stint may have ended in a disappointing manner before being lured by the affluence of Saudi Arabia. But Italy are now in the expert hands of Spalletti, whose Napoli side romped to the 2022/23 Serie A title after a 33-year hiatus while producing impressive performances in the Champions League as well.
Spalletti takes over an Azzurri side whose powers have faded dramatically since lifting the Euro 2020 trophy at Wembley, with another failed World Cup qualifying attempt, a 3-0 Finalissima defeat at the hands of Argentina, and also failing to win the UEFA Nations League — finishing third — also staining Mancini’s record sheet.
The visitors have only played two matches in Group C of the European Championship qualifiers due to their involvement in the UEFA Nations League. They kicked things off with a 2-1 defeat to England before picking up a 2-0 win in Malta in their most recent qualifying fixture. They will be looking to move closer to automatic qualification places with their second group win here.
As for the hosts, their group opener seemed like a cakewalk against Malta, but they were made to sweat to seal a 2-1 victory over the 171st-ranked national team. The real shocker, though, came in the next game when they let away a two-goal advantage, losing 2-3 to Ukraine.
Things went from bad to worse as England crushed them to their heaviest defeat in history, thrashing them 0-7 at Old Trafford. Drawn against two former world champions, Group C was always going to be difficult for North Macedonia. But they are no pushovers, having qualified for Euro 2020 and made it to the 2022 World Cup playoff final, where they lost to Portugal.
The last time these two sides met was back in 2022 when a late North Macedonia strike knocked Italy out of World Cup 2022 qualifying. The Azzurri will be seeking retribution for that heartbreaking defeat here. Ahead of the two sides’ latest meeting on Friday, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
Team News & Tactics
North Macedonia
The hosts have several players out injured, including Burnley’s Darko Churlinov, Valon Ethemi, and Marjan Radeski. Defender Visar Musliu missed the England defeat through suspension, but the Paderborn centre-back is now back in contention to start here.
North Macedonia’s backline displayed fragility throughout the Euro 2024 qualifiers, conceding 11 goals in just three games. Adding to the concern is the temporary absence of captain Stefan Ristovski, one of the defensive pillars.
The veteran right-back was left bloodied following a nasty head-to-head aerial duel with Harry Kane last time out, and while he has since recovered, he is currently out of the national team fray after publicly confessing to discernment with head coach Blagoja Milevski.
Despite his side’s humiliation at Old Trafford, suffering a humiliating 0-7 defeat to England, Milevski is likely to deploy a similar 4-3-3 formation against Italy. Eljif Elmas and Enis Bardhi often carry a major goal-scoring threat from midfield, with both players scoring a combined five goals in their last six appearances for North Macedonia.
Despite the fact that he lacks match fitness and is currently a free agent, Aleksandar Trajkovski will continue to lead the line for the hosts alongside Ilija Nestorovski, who plies his trade for Serie B side Ascoli.
Probable Lineup (5-3-2): Dimitrievski; Ashkovski, Velkovski, Musliu, Zajkov, Alioski; Ademi, Bardhi, Elmas; Trajkovski, Nestorovski
Italy
New boss Luciano Spalletti has named Nicolo Zaniolo and Wilfried Gnonto in the Italy squad. Marco Verratti, Leonardo Bonucci, and Jorginho have surprisingly been omitted, while attacking duo Domenico Berardi and Gianluca Scamacca are other notable absentees.
Spalletti could deploy his preferred 4-3-3 formation from Napoli, which was also the setup Mancini has often preferred during his reign. Mancini’s final few games in charge saw Italy lose their defensive sturdiness, conceding two goals in four of their last five games. As a new era gets underway, the back line will be the foundation of any success.
25-year-old centre-back Nicolo Casale has been rewarded with his inaugural call-up to the national team thanks to his remarkable performances at Lazio. However, his debut will have to wait as he starts from the bench, with Alessio Romagnoli and Alessandro Bastoni set to operate as a central defensive pair in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
L’allenamento degli Azzurri 💙📸#Nazionale 🇮🇹 #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/yMzU2mdsUu
— Nazionale Italiana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) September 7, 2023
Giovanni De Lorenzo and Federico Dimarco remain the two favourites to occupy the full-back slots. As for the midfield, Spalletti could bring in Sandro Tonali, who could hold the fort in the number six slot, with Nicolo Barella and Davide Frattesi offering creativity in the middle of the park.
The new manager’s main issue, both on Saturday and in the future, will be finding a striker who can bag consistent goals up top. Ciro Immobile has never been able to translate his club form to the international level, and Andrea Belotti and Gianluca Scammacca have not pulled any trees either.
With Belotti and Scammaca not called up by Spalletti, Mateo Retegui, who received his first call-up earlier this year, will likely be handed the chance to impress here. The forward, who joined Genoa during the summer, has already opened his account in Serie A and will be eager to nail down the starting spot with a goal-scoring performance here. Matteo Politano and Federico Chiesa, meanwhile, will provide attacking support from the flanks.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Romagnoli, Bastoni, Dimarco; Barella, Tonali, Frattesi; Politano, Retegui, Chiesa
Key Stats
- The two teams have been pitted against each other three times since 2016, with all meetings taking place in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with each team winning apiece.
- North Macedonia have conceded ten goals in the last two international matches against Ukraine and England.
- Italy have a decent record on their recent travels, having won four of their last six away matches, although they have failed to keep a single clean sheet in that run.
- Italy have looked defensively susceptible in recent games away from their home turf, having managed to keep a clean sheet only once in their last five visits.
Player to Watch
Federico Chiesa
Federico Chiesa looks to have put his injury woes behind him and is off to a flying start to the season for Juventus. He has shown signs of returning to his pre-ACL peak and has so far scored two goals in his opening three games in Serie A this season. The Euro 2020 star forward was also on the scoresheet in Italy’s win over the Netherlands back in June and is poised to find the net on Saturday.
Prediction
North Macedonia 0-2 Italy
Italy will be hungry for vengeance after North Macedonia ousted them from the previous World Cup qualifiers. Nevertheless, Milevski’s team have nothing to lose in this encounter, and a counter-offensive plan could be on the cards, making things interesting for Saturday’s game.
Spalletti will have little time to put his ideas into action but will benefit from a mismatch in ability between the two teams as well as the chaos in the away dugout due to the ongoing disagreement between the manager and their absent captain. The reigning European champions may not score goals for fun in Skopje, but a comfortable winning start to Spalletti’s reign surely awaits this weekend.
