After four wins and a draw, Italy suffered their first defeat in group A2 of the Nations League. A knockout that does not stop the Azzurri’s progress in this competition, but forces them into a tougher quarter-final (Portugal, Spain or Germany) given their second place finish in the group behind the Transalpines. At the end of the match, this is Luciano Spalletti’s analysis: “Do you regret having conceded 3 goals from set pieces? Unfortunately that’s the way it is. When you could be having a calmer evening, you go in and immediately score a goal from set pieces. Then we weren’t good at staying calm and we spent a lot of energy. It’s a a bit random, all free kicks. At 2-1 it seemed like we could manage it, then there was another free kick that created problems for us and then they closed down.”
This is how Federico Dimarco analyzed the problem highlighted by the Azzurri in the post-match period: “In the first 30 minutes we stretched out a bit and they played a lot inside us. After Cambiaso’s goal we reorganized ourselves, we took them well and after that I don’t think there was any match. It’s a shame that second goal from Rabiot, those are details that make the difference. Why this problem on set pieces we definitely need to improve, a team like ours can’t concede all these goals from dead balls.”
Didier Deschamps satisfied at the end of the match: “Where did you win the match? A bit of everything was needed, already the positioning of our three attackers served to defend well and create difficulties for Italy. Then I made some choices on the place settings also studying the positions… Italy he showed that he has quality, I changed a lot of players, this is what these six games were for. Tonight’s victory is a great moment for my boys.”
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