Courtesy: Euro Sport 2
Without a doubt, this is the most talented Italy in a long time. A select group of veterans is supported by an exciting generation. Mancini’s Italy is built from the midfield: Verratti, Jorginho, Barella. These three are all technical midfielder that combines very well. Jorginho is the regista with a playmaking mezzala (Verratti) and one that offers more volume of work (Barella). With them, the “beautiful” Italy was born. The midfield quality is such that even with Zaniolo out with an injury Mancini has chosen to leave out Castrovilli and Pessina.
Italy squad Euro 2020
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alex Meret, Salvatore Sirigu
Defenders: Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, Rafael Toloi, Emerson Palmieri, Leonardo Spinazzola, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Florenzi
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella, Marco Verratti, Jorginho, Bryan Cristante, Manuel Locatelli, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Stefano Sensi
Forwards: Andrea Belotti, Domenico Berardi, Federico Bernardeschi, Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne, Giacomo Raspadori
Weakness:
Without a doubt, the striker remains the main issue for Mancini’s Italy. They do everything well except getting the CF to score. Immobile cannot translate his Lazio form to Italy, while Belotti is a better fit but not as prolific a scorer. The form of these two will greatly affect Italy’s chances against big teams when mistakes in front of goal cost you an elimination
Chiellini is on the verge of retirement. Bastoni is bursting with talent and youth. Acerbi and Bonucci combine experience with quality. It’s not clear what Italy’s best CB pair is. Acerbi and Bastoni are in the better form, but Chiellini and Bonucci are champions. Questions also remain in the fullback pairs, Floreni and Spinazzola as more attacking choices or Di Lorenzo and Emerson providing more balance.