Italy lost at San Siro against France and first place in group A2 of the Nations League. Luciano Spalletti’s national team received a heavy 3-1 which allowed the French team, at the last corner, to overtake the Azzurri at the top thanks to a better overall goal difference. The match was decided in a sold-out Meazza by Adrien Rabiot’s winning headers which opened and closed the contest. In between, Vicario’s own goal and Cambiaso’s goal.
Spalletti confirmed nine of the outfield players who took to the field 72 hours earlier in Brussels against Belgium. The choice didn’t pay off because the team appeared tired and lackluster. “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.”
Second place still allows the Azzurri to access the Nations League quarter-finals, but forces them into a very tough draw. In March, Italy will challenge one of the top teams in the other groups: next Friday we will find out if it will be Spain, Portugal or Germany.
CLICK HERE to reread Italy’s report cards after the match at San Siro lost 3-1 against France