Italy towards the European Championships in the name of ‘bomber’ Frattesi
In the last friendly before leaving for the European Championships in Germany, Italy beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0
ROMA – A small victory. In the last friendly before leaving for the European Championships in Germany, Italy beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0. Frattesi decided the match that Spalletti had chosen to test various possible innovations, including his own the Inter midfielder paired with Chiesa behind the striker. And Frattesi and Chiesa were the happiest notes of the evening in which the coach also tried the three-man defense (with Darmian, Buongiorno and Calafiori) and a midfield four with Fagioli alongside Jorginho in the middle and Bellanova and Cambiaso on the outside. In front Scamacca. Before the starting whistle, a parade of honor for the National Under 17 European champions, guests at the Castellani stadium in Empoli, who were honored by Spalletti’s Azzurri and applauded by the public. Then off to the game. Calmly. Small trot for Italy, as in the previous friendly against Turkey. A routine however interrupted by the accelerations of those two: Frattesi and Chiesa. Once ‘blocked’ by the opposing defense and then in the 38th minute they did well to create the goal opportunity: cross from the Juventus player and right-footed volley from the midfielder under the crossbar.
FOURTH VICTORY IN SIX MATCHES AGAINST BOSNIA
It’s the goal with which the Azzurri signed their fourth victory in six games against Bosnia (then there are 1 draw and 1 defeat). That’s enough. The second half, in fact, then served to give minutes to those who could be in the starting lineup next Saturday in their debut at the European Championships against Albania. With Barella still in the pits due to fatigue, the various Dimarco, Cristante and Pellegrini entered. Then there is also room forRaspadori and the debutant Folorunsho. The match therefore took on a value only for Scamacca, who tried to convince Spalletti to give him a shirt in the first match in Germany, but the opposing goalkeeper took away a Eurogoal which the Atalanta striker saved it was built with great control and volleying at Buongiorno’s invitation. And then he was the one who half-heartedly touched a ball that arrived in the area and which could have been shot inside instead of onto the gloves of the Bosnia goalkeeper. He then gave way to Retegui with a bit of a bitter taste in his mouth: the performance was good, but the goal didn’t arrive. In the end, Italy even risked drawing this friendly match, but Donnarumma gave meaning to his evening with an excellent intervention. In short, there is still a lot to do. Especially up front given that the bomber of the Spalletti cycle, with 4 goals, is Frattesi himself. On paper a reservation.
SPALLETTI: “I LIKED ITALY, SCAMACCA WELL”< /strong>
“It was a good match, even if at times we lacked the right energy to do better. We created several opportunities but we weren’t good at realizing them. And we made some mistakes too much even in the defensive phase. However, I liked the team more than the match against Turkey.” Comment by Luciano Spalletti. Some evaluations on the individuals: “Fagioli and Jorginho did well together, the quality was greater than in the past. Good morning? Good, in marking and not only. Scamacca? His was a ‘excellent performance‘ – said the coach – he is on the right path to becoming the player who makes the whole team improve. The goalkeeper denied him a goal on a couple of occasions.” Finally on Chiesa: “That is his position. For me he must stay behind the striker on the centre-left, having the possibility of choosing whether to open up to the left or centralize”. “We are convinced that we have a good team – concluded Spalletti – Now we need to get into the real match atmosphere”.