Hey everyone! Just wanted to get something up for the Euro 2024 qualifier today. After a busy August for us here at the FDL1899, we took the last week off but we’re ready to start up again as we face the Derby della Madonnina this weekend.
But, until then we root for the Azzurri!
FORMATION
ITALY (4-3-3): Donnarumma (C); Dimarco, Bastoni, scalvini, Di Lorenzo; Barella, Locatelli, Frattesi; Zaccagni, Raspadori, Zaniolo
UKRAINE (4-4-1-1): Bushchan; Mykolenko, Kryvtsov, Zabarnyi, Konoplia; Tsigankov, Zinchenko, Stepanenko, Yarmolenko (C); Sudakov; Dovbyk
WHERE TO WATCH
All I could find on this for us here in the states is on Fubo and Vix Premium Deportes 3. Not sure where else one can watch so please share down in the comments if you know
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
So…the Italy National Team…yikes. Obviously Spalletti will need some time but does Italy have the talent to have the coaching change make a difference? I don’t know that I know the answer to that but lots of people out there seem to think the answer is no. There does seem to be an abundance of mediocre talent on the team so maybe these people are onto something. Time will tell.
As for this match, on paper it’s a game Italy should win, at least based on historical precedent. But, games aren’t played on paper and Ukraine would surely love to give their people something positive to think about with their ongoing war with Russia still front of mind.
Italy are dealing with some injuries and some of the players who played in the game vs North Macedonia are either in doubt (Tonali, Spinazzola) or didn’t feature and are still unavailable (Chiesa, Pellegrini). Chiesa’s absence in particular hurts an Italian side that has had difficulty scoring, while not having Tonali makes it one less quality player available to contribute. Immobile was less terrible than he usually is with the national team vs North Macedonia but still isn’t that presence the Azzurri need in the box especially vs low blocks. Scammaca could have maybe helped here but we won’t find out as he wasn’t called up. Someone is going to need to step up and find their scoring boots and Spalletti seems to think maybe Raspadori or Zaniolo are those guys based on the starting lineup…
For Ukraine, who I obviously know little about, are currently 2nd in the group, up 3pts on Italy but with one more game played. So, an Italy win would go a long way in helping Italy stay in the top 2 and keep even a remote chance to catch England at the top.
But back to Ukraine. I know I wanted to watch Chelsea’s €70M man Mykhaylo Mudryk but he’s not starting. Odd as he’s been better with his national team, having 2 assists in 3 games played in these Euro 2024 qualifiers. Not sure who they will look to for that creative spark. On the scoring front, their goals have come from multiple players but Tsigankov leads the way with 2 goals in 4 games (and has 1 assist). So, with goals able to come from any of the forward players, Italy will need to stay alert. All this being said, Ukraine have changed their shape pretty regularly based on their previous 5 games and are in a 4-4-1-1 today, maybe looking to play that low block that has shown to be effective vs this Italian side.
I’m anticipating a slog of a game and wouldn’t be surprised seeing something like a 1-1 draw. I guess we’ll see…
Forza Azzurri
gillis