Italy: three possible line-up changes against Spain

Reports in Italy claim Gianluca Mancini, Bryan Cristante and Mateo Retegui could start for Italy against Spain on Thursday.

The Azzurri beat Albania 2-1 on their EURO 2024 debut last week and in just two days, they’ll take to the pitch again to meet Spain in Gelsenkirchen.

Page nine of Tuesday’s printed edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Spalletti is considering three line-up changes for the upcoming match against La Roja, one for each department.

Roma defender Gianluca Mancini may start at the back in place of Riccardo Calafiori or in a three-man defence, joining the Bologna centre-back and Alessandro Bastoni.

Italy: three possible line-up changes against Spain

Strong in man-marking, Mancini may be a better fit to deal with Spain striker Alvaro Morata.

Likewise, his Roma teammate Cristante could strengthen Italy’s midfield by replacing Davide Frattesi or Lorenzo Pellegrini. Corriere Delo Sport confirms that Cristante is an option for the central midfield role against Spain.

Lastly, Mateo Retegui could get the nod in attack against Spain as he’s more inclined to press the opponents than Scamacca.

Retegui was included in Italy’s starting team during a training session on Monday, but Spalletti will experiment more today, when media will not be allowed at the Azzurri training base.