Mateo Retegui and Gigio Donnarumma shone in Italy’s win over Venezuela on Thursday, but Luciano Spalletti will have food for thought over the Azzurri’s system ahead of Sunday’s match against Ecuador.

Italy struggled more than expected against Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale, but still managed to secure a 2-1 win in their first friendly in 19 years in the USA. So, what did we learn from Italy’s match at the Chase Stadium?

Have Italy found a striker?

Mateo Retegui scored a brace and impressed Spalletti, and everyone in Italy is asking the same thing this morning: Have we found a striker for the 2024 Euros? Surely, Retegui’s brace is no fluke, as the Argentine-born striker has netted four times in five appearances with the Azzurri. He made his debut exactly a year ago—on March 23, 2023, in a European qualifying fixture against England, finding the net in a 2-1 loss in Naples. Is it enough to become a regular starter in Germany this summer? It’s early to say, but the signals Retegui sent against Venezuela are indeed promising. As Spalletti said, he not only scored but also helped the team by holding the ball in attack. In other words, he did what a pure centre forward must do and Italy desperately needs someone like this. I still think Giacomo Raspadori has a fair chance of starting a few games as a false nine at the Euros, but surely Retegui is now a serious candidate for the starting spot.

Respect Donnarumma

Many Italy fans seem to have forgotten how important Gigio is to the national team. He was just as important as Retegui against Venezuela but he’s not getting the recognition he deserves. He started the game with his first penalty kick save in regular time for Italy after just three minutes and denied Jhonder Cádiz in a one-on-one situation in the second half. Perhaps, some take his saves for granted, but surely, many others still have hard feelings towards him since he left Milan on a free transfer three years ago. Don’t get me wrong, he is still not perfect. There are areas of improvement, especially with the ball at his feet. Everyone’s blaming Jack Bonaventura for Venezuela’s equaliser, but Gigio’s pass to the Fiorentina midfielder was not exactly the smartest thing to do because Donnarumma could see a Venezuela midfielder running forward to press his teammate. Even if Spalletti has many quality options in goal, including Tottenham goalkeeper Gugliemo Vicario, Donnarumma proved he’s still the best between the sticks. Don’t forget Donnarumma has been Italy’s captain in five matches from six under Spalletti. One more proof that his starting spot at the Euros is not in danger.

Italy tactics

The big talking point on the eve of the game was: How will Italy players adapt to a three-man defence? The reply from the Venezuela game was clear. Not so well. However, the Azzurri’s struggles were predictable. Giovanni Di Lorenzo started as one of the three centre-backs, joining Alessandro Buongiorno and Giorgio Scalvini. Di Lorenzo was clearly out of position. Buongiorno and Scalvini are still inexperienced at an international level. The right-hand side of the pitch seemed the weakest, at least in the first half, but the Torino and Atalanta defenders also made some errors here and there and sometimes struggled to cope with the high pressing from Venezuela. It’s worth mentioning that Spalletti’s predecessor, Roberto Mancini, tried a three-man defence only once, losing an international friendly against Austria in 2022. After that, Mancini returned to a 4-3-3 system, but this doesn’t mean Spalletti won’t try again. Italy were indeed more convincing and created at least three goal-scoring opportunities in the final 15 minutes with a four-man defence, but most of the starters against Venezuela last night are not expected to be regulars in the Azzurri XI in Germany. Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Darmian, and perhaps Francesco Acerbi (it’s a big if) would make Italy’s three-man defence way more stable, having played together for two years at a club level.

One thought on “Three talking points from Italy’s win against Venezuela”
  1. Didn’t Mancini use a 3 man defense in the win against England at the San Siro? Pretty sure we did it against Hungary in Budapest too. Mancini played a 3 man defense several times

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