Euro 2024: Can Italy defend its title with inexperienced strikers?

Although Italy is the Defending Champion of this edition of the Euros, its record on the international stage in the last decade hasn’t been as stellar as the Azzurri would have liked.

It failed to qualify in the last two World Cups and was knocked out of the group stage in 2014.

Italy finished third in the previous two Nations League (2021,2023), but this time, it won’t have its ace, Ciro Immobile, up-front.

Despite just being 34, new coach Luciano Spalletti has opted to sideline the veteran striker despite him being a pivotal player in Italy’s last three major tournaments in which it had fared so well. 

With just 17 international goals, Immobile couldn’t do as good for the country as he has done for Lazio; however, he had led Italy’s attack for over a decade and was integral to his side.

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Italy has had legendary players like Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi in the past, but since then, its quality of strikers has slowly downgraded. A few years ago, alongside Immobile, Mario Balotelli was the star ahead, and although he did well and scored 14 goals, his national team career was extremely short-lived.

Cut to 2024, Spalletti has Gianluca Scamacca, Mateo Retegui and Giacomo Raspadori as his number nine options, which is a major concern. 

WHO ARE ITALY’S CURRENT STRIKERS?

25-year-old Gianluca Scamacca seems to be the first-choice striker for Italy, but he has only scored one goal for the country in 16 appearances.

However, he has performed exceptionally well for his club, Atalanta, this season, with 18 goals and seven assists across all competitions.

He is in a rich vein of form and helped his club reach the Europa League final and beat Bayer Leverkusen. Atalanta reached the Coppa Italia final and finished fourth in the Serie A, with Scamacca leading the frontlines.

Scamacca has come a long way since his last season at West Ham United, where he could only score three league goals and had a season marred with injury concerns, but he lacks the experience and consistency needed to lead a team of Italy’s stature in the attack. 

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Raspadori (24) and Retegui (25) are next in line, but with just seven and six league goals for their respective clubs this season, they aren’t prolific enough to start in a tournament like the Euros, where opportunities are limited, and matches are finite.

ITALY’S CHALLENGING PATH AHEAD 

Italy’s path in this Euros will be challenging, especially since it finds itself in the supposed ‘group of death’ competing against Spain and Croatia for the top-two spot, with Albania in the mix. 

With four of the best third-placed teams set to qualify for knockouts, it will be crucial for Italy to aim for a strong goal difference in its three group-stage matches. Although it has a solid defence, the Azzurris will have to make the most out of every opportunity they get in front of goal, leaving a massive responsibility on Scamacca and co’s young shoulders.

Spain’s Alvaro Morata (31) and Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric (32) will be playing their side’s number nines and have scored 35 and 28 goals for their countries, respectively. Scamacca, Raspadori or Retegui will have to outscore such seasoned strikers to help Italy progress to the knockout stages. 

Other strikers in the tournament like Cristiano Ronaldo, Oliver Giroud and Harry Kane, are storied goalscorers for their respective nations and are known to score match-winners in dire situations. Compared to the other strikers from the big contenders in the tournament, Italy’s young forwards are way down in the pecking order.

EXTRA PRESSURE ON CHIESA

Tactically, under Spalletti, Italy operates on counterattacks and prefers to utilize the wings until the final third. Such dependence on the flanks gives its best player, Federico Chiesa, a lot of responsibility in the build-up play, meaning Scamacca will have to be a fox-in-the-box and poach whatever opportunities come his way. If he fails to do so, the scoring responsibility will fall back on Chiesa.

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If Scamacca fails to convert, he will be forced to play deeper at the edge of the box and adapt to a holding role to allow its wingers, Chiesa, Lorenzo Pellegrini or Zaniolo, to move into the box and finish the job. But Scamacca lacks the passing acumen and creativity to pull such plays. In the Serie A this season, his pass completion percentage was just 67.5 per cent, and he only averaged 2.26 passes into the final third per 90.

Scamacca is in fine scoring form and should do well, but if the pressure gets to him and he starts missing opportunities, Chiesa will be forced to play more centrally as the second striker, and Italy’s build-up will close off one flank.

Spalletti has played Raspadori and Retegui in the qualifiers leading up to the tournament, and in case Scamacca fails to shine, we could see his counterparts in action. Retegiu, especially, can act as a viable ‘super sub’ option, having scored two goals in the qualifiers and two in friendlies for the national team.

Italy’s bid to defend its Euro Cup will be extremely difficult since it is in a transitional period and has a young set of players this time. The additional challenge of a tough group and the improved quality of other heavyweights are not doing its cause any favours. However, it wasn’t the favourite to win in 2020 either but was dominant right from the group stage to the final day. 

Coach Spalletti will be banking on Donnarumma’s performance between the sticks and his solid five-at-the-back defence to ensure clean sheets because, unfortunately for the Azzurri, goals could be scarce in Euro 2024.