Luciano Spalletti named the same starting line-up for Italy's first two matches at Euro 2024, but after their loss to Spain changes will be made for the final Group B match against Croatia, the coach said on Sunday.
After Italy's 2-1 victory over Albania, Spalletti kept faith in his players, but after the 1-0 loss to Spain in which his team was completely outmatched, the coach had spoken of a tired team that I couldn't compete with the pace and energy. of the Spanish.
“After a match like that, the idea of being able to change something is there, because I probably made a mistake by not changing before, seeing the performance against Spain,” Spalletti told reporters.
“But the team against Albania seemed so good to me that I thought it was a bet to change things. Now that we have noticed a little fatigue, a little rust, something will surely change.”
The result against Spain and the manner of the defeat led to many discussions in the Italian camp over the past few days, but now the time for talk is over.
“I think the beating we received against Spain the other day has taught us a lot. When you lose, you see the form of the man, the form of the player,” said Italian defender Alessandro Bastoni.
Spalletti added: “We looked at it and talked about it, we took a step back in terms of what we had seen in the games leading up to that.
“I hope to see that the game against Spain taught us some lessons, even though we played badly and suffered because of how it ended.
“Now we have to put facts first and put words aside.”
Italy in the past was famous for its defensive ability, its ability to achieve a victory, but the days of the “Catenaccio” (“bolt”) style are long gone and, according to Spalletti, they have no place in modern football.
“Today's football is no longer just about doing one thing, you have to know how to do more than one,” Spalletti said.
“Given the quality of Croatia, sometimes we will be forced to defend with 11 players, compact and then turn the action around without allowing the opponents to recompose a defensive phase.
“It is clear that in today's football you cannot do this for the entire match, you cannot simply live with a low defense and restarts.”
Spain with six points has already won the group, and Italy with three points needs a draw against Croatia to guarantee its place in the round of 16 as runners-up.
A loss would see Croatia, who have one point, leapfrog the Italians and could leave them sweating for one of the four best third-place finishers to advance, or outright if Albania, also with a point, beat Spain.
“There are certain games that ultimately determine whether it was a great story or a story to forget,” Spalletti said.
“So ultimately the glory of your story comes down to games like these.”
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
