🇮🇹 Italy: Gattuso makes his debut today, what should we expect? 👀

The moment of truth has arrived: tonight Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy will play its first match against Estonia, valid for the 2024 World Cup qualifiers.

Gattuso will be on the bench as head coach for the first time, after taking over from Luciano Spalletti following the defeat against Norway last June.

What should we expect from his Italy and what challenges will he have to face?

Margin for error: zero

We know it: Italy can no longer afford to make mistakes.

The defeat against Norway has seriously compromised their chances of qualifying for the World Cup, and—to keep alive the hope of not experiencing a third consecutive World Cup without the Azzurri—there can be no more missteps.

With Norway going full throttle (4 wins), the only hope to avoid the play-offs is to hope for a slip-up from Haaland and company in order to play for first place in the group in the final match in November.

Otherwise, it will be the infernal cauldron of the play-offs, which historically have not favored the Azzurri, and this year will be even more complicated, since out of the 16 teams competing in the play-off round, only 4 will secure a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Three-man defense or four-man defense?

But how will the Azzurri change under Gattuso’s orders? The first change compared to Spalletti’s management seems destined to be in formation: the Tuscan coach’s three-man defense will be shelved in favor of a return to a four-man defense.

Historically, Gattuso has preferred to play with a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 (he hasn’t wanted to reveal which one he’ll use for the national team yet, saying in a press conference that “the numbers don’t matter”), although during his time at Marseille he also experimented with three-man defenses, which, however, are not among his favorites. He admitted it himself at the time: “It’s not my football.”

We can imagine that Dimarco and Di Lorenzo, two absolute mainstays of the teams that fought for the title last year, will be the two starting full-backs, with Bastoni and Calafiori in the central positions in front of the goal defended, of course, by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Untouchable midfield, but up front?

The midfielders seem to be undisputed, with Tonali and Barella competing for the two more advanced spots in the midfield triangle of a possible 4-3-3.

The only question mark in the middle of the field concerns the most defensive player, with Manuel Locatelli seeming slightly favored over Rovella to secure a starting spot.

The real uncertainties are in the attacking trio that Gattuso will want to field, especially in light of the knee problems that forced Scamacca to leave Coverciano.

The only position not in question should be on the left, with Zaccagni’s consistent performances earning him a starting spot. So, there will be competition for the remaining positions, with Retegui trying to convince the coach that he deserves the spot more than Kean, despite the latter’s move to Arabia.

And on the right? It will be interesting to see if Politano, with whom Gattuso worked during his season at Napoli, will be a certainty the coach doesn’t want to do without, or if there will finally be more space for Orsolini in the Azzurri shirt.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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