Yahoo Sports EURO 2024: Ten traps Italy must avoid against Spain and Croatia
Il Corriere dello Sport previews Italy’s next EURO 2024 games against Spain and Croatia saying that the Azzurri must avoid ‘ten traps’ after a successful debut against Albania.
Italy meet Spain at the VELTINS-Arena in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday, June 20, 2024.
Both the Azzurri and La Roja won on their debut last week and Luciano Spalletti’s men are high on confidence, but Corriere dello Sport sent them a warning ahead of the next match.
Journalist Alberto Polverosi wrote ten ‘rules’ the Azzurri should follow to avoid traps in the next two games and in order to qualify for the Round of 16.
EURO 2024: Ten traps Italy must avoid against Spain and Croatia
Attention drop—Luciano Spalletti has also highlighted this. Italy conceded two goal-scoring opportunities to Albania, who converted one on Saturday. The Azzurri must avoid making the same errors against teams like Spain and Croatia, which are superior to Albania.
More clinical – Italy missed at least two to three goal-scoring opportunities on their debut and will need to be more clinical in the next two games. Davide Frattesi said the same thing at a press conference on Monday.
Goals from strikers – Chiesa, Scamacca and Pellegrini played well against Albania, but goals came from a defender and a central midfielder. Spalletti will need more goals from his strikers in this tournament.
Forget the victory against Albania – Italy must immediately forget about their successful debut in Dortmund especially because Spain and Croatia are stronger than Albania and will offer a tougher challenge to the Azzurri
Experience – Italy’s starting line-up against Albania was the youngest since EURO 1988, and although the young players’ lightheartedness contributed to securing a deserved victory, the Azzurri must be ready to face more experienced teams like Spain and Croatia now.
Deal with Spain’s quality – As Frattesi also said, the individual quality of Spain’s players is superior to Italy’s so the Azzurri must cope with the Spaniards’ ability with a tough and resolute collective performance.
Central midfield – Jorginho made headlines after Italy’s win over Albania, but Spain won’t leave the Arsenal star so much space on Thursday and, at the same time, the Azzurri must make sure Rodri and Fabian Ruiz won’t have space and time to build up.
Lamine Yamal – The youngest player at the Euros and one of Spain’s biggest threats. He will play down the right wing, crossing paths with Federico Dimarco who must ensure covering space along the entire flank.
No calculations – If Italy beat Spain, they qualify for the Round of 16 with a game to spare, if they draw, they have two results available against Croatia in the final round, but Italy players should only think about winning the next match against Spain and avoid any distraction.
Don’t think Croatia are finished – Even if they lost 3-0 on their debut, Croatia have proved several times that they never give up. If the last game against Italy will be decisive, it should be played with the maximum commitment against a proud and talented team.
